Surgery and Semi-Permanent Mods?
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Thursday May 1st, 2008 @ 1:20 AM
Filed under: Pocketing
This may be pseudo-off topic but anyway…
I finally have an appointment booked for a tonsillectomy (the removal of my tonsils) and I’ve been asked to remove all jewelery from my piercings (labrets, barbells and tunnels) “If at all possible”. I’m not happy but of course, I’ll comply.
Can they legally make me remove my current dermal anchors and is there any medical reason why they should be removed? Also, is it such a bad idea to get a few more dermal anchors before the operation if they are given adequate time to heal?
The only real medical reason I can think of is because of the possibility of contamination of the sterile workspace but surely there is some other way to minimise the amount of germies so that I can keep my anchors. I haven’t discussed my dermal anchors with the hospital because I haven’t been able to contact them so, what do you guys think?
Actually, the reason they typically require you to remove all jewelry is to reduce the likelihood of you receiving burns from any of the electrocautery equipment which is very prevelant in modern-day surgery. While burns may not necessarily occur, it is a possibility and is a risk that most hospitals want to avoid.
I doubt there is any legal recourse to make your remove your microdermals…or piercings for that matter. Then again, they don’t need any legal recourse. They can simply refuse to perform the operation.
I think discussing the possibility of leaving the anchors in is worth a shot. However, don’t be surprised if they have an unsympathetic and/or unwaivering stand on the topic.
Best of luck.
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4 Responses to “Surgery and Semi-Permanent Mods?”
I just had two surgeries done to remove a kidney stone less than a month ago. I refused to remove any of my piercings, and they made me sign a waiver and stuff. The only major risks from what I gather are if those dermal anchors are close to the site where they would use those paddles if your heart stops, or if you have tongue rings, there’s a risk of them falling into your lungs if they use intubation. But that’s only if they come unscrewed in the 1st place.
Sarah on May 1st, 2008 at 1:37 pmIf they did indeed say “if at all possible”, I would think they understand that not every mod, such as microdermals, etc. can be removed…
automaticgirl on May 1st, 2008 at 3:42 pmI had major surgery about 6 months ago and was told the reason they wanted all of my jewelery out was to minimize the chance that any equipment could get caught on it. Anything that I couldn’t/wouldn’t remove was taped over with surgical tape and I was good to go.
sPy on May 3rd, 2008 at 10:39 amIt really depends on both the doctor and anesthesiologist. My doctor was fine with me having my tonsillectomy with retainers, but my anesthesiologist was not so they had to come out. However those were oral piercings. I lost two other piercings due to the surgery, but I was too nervous about getting burned and they were the kind of piercings that couldn’t get retainers. There is light at the end of the tunnel as automaticgirl pointed out, and don’t some scarification artists use similar equiptment without the client having to take anything out?
lilish on May 5th, 2008 at 12:10 amLeave a Comment