question about nipple tattooing

ohilly
ohilly Member Posts: 441
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I am getting discouraged about the nipple tattooing. Without going into all the details, I have now tried to schedule the procedure four times with two different major hospitals in Chicago, only to be cancelled. I looked online and found a tattoo artist who is supposed to be the best in Chicago and said she took a special course to learn how to tattoo on the areolas. She offered to do the procedure for free if I would make a donation to a cancer organization. I had lat flap reconstruction with implants, and am a little afraid somehow the tattooing could puncture the implants? My question is: is there any harm in having a tattoo artist do this instead of at a hospital?

Ohilly

Comments

  • piseminger
    piseminger Member Posts: 35
    #2
    Plastic Surgeon?
    I don't have an answer to your question but I do have a question for you. You had a plastic surgeon do your reconstruction right? Why aren't they doing the tattooing or why don't they recommend someone to you. I would definitely ask the person who did the reconstruction before you do it.
    I met with a plastic surgeon this week about having reconstruction and I was under the impression she would do the tattooing after I have healed from my reconstruction.
  • ohilly
    ohilly Member Posts: 441
    #3
    piseminger said:

    Plastic Surgeon?
    I don't have an answer to your question but I do have a question for you. You had a plastic surgeon do your reconstruction right? Why aren't they doing the tattooing or why don't they recommend someone to you. I would definitely ask the person who did the reconstruction before you do it.
    I met with a plastic surgeon this week about having reconstruction and I was under the impression she would do the tattooing after I have healed from my reconstruction.

    explanation
    Okay, I said I wouldn't get into all the details, but I guess I will: the original plastic surgeon, although an excellent surgeon technically, was a horrible human being. He cancelled the nipple tattooing three times, and the last time I had already driven 45 minutes to his office, cancelled my entire job for the day, only to be told at the last minute that he couldn't do it. He did numerous other things that I consider unethical, and refuses to speak to me over the phone (he only has PA speak to patients, never him, even in an emergency). So I am done with him. I then went to a major teaching hospital in Chicago who said they would take over and do the nipple tattooing. They called me last week and said they have to cancel because their nipple tattooer unexpectedly left. They said they have to get back to me with a new date, but it has been several days and they haven't called yet.

    Oh, I forgot to say that my original plastic surgeon is being sued by the husband of one of his patients for having sex with her (this appeared in our local newspaper)!

    In the meantime, I found a professional tattoo artist who agreed to do the procedure for free if I promise to donate money to a cancer charity. So now I am researching out to see if it is safe to have a tattoo artist do it instead of at a hospital. I emailed my breast surgeon about this and am posting on this board in hopes that someone knows the answer. I actually think a professional tattoo artist might be better at doing the nipple tattooing since this is their profession. Any thoughts, anyone? Ohilly
  • Eil4186
    Eil4186 Member Posts: 949
    #4
    Hi Ohilly. I have several
    Hi Ohilly. I have several tattoos and the needles only go in about the depth of a few human hairs. I wouldn't think it would puncture the implants.
  • Trisia
    Trisia Member Posts: 10
    #5
    ohilly said:

    explanation
    Okay, I said I wouldn't get into all the details, but I guess I will: the original plastic surgeon, although an excellent surgeon technically, was a horrible human being. He cancelled the nipple tattooing three times, and the last time I had already driven 45 minutes to his office, cancelled my entire job for the day, only to be told at the last minute that he couldn't do it. He did numerous other things that I consider unethical, and refuses to speak to me over the phone (he only has PA speak to patients, never him, even in an emergency). So I am done with him. I then went to a major teaching hospital in Chicago who said they would take over and do the nipple tattooing. They called me last week and said they have to cancel because their nipple tattooer unexpectedly left. They said they have to get back to me with a new date, but it has been several days and they haven't called yet.

    Oh, I forgot to say that my original plastic surgeon is being sued by the husband of one of his patients for having sex with her (this appeared in our local newspaper)!

    In the meantime, I found a professional tattoo artist who agreed to do the procedure for free if I promise to donate money to a cancer charity. So now I am researching out to see if it is safe to have a tattoo artist do it instead of at a hospital. I emailed my breast surgeon about this and am posting on this board in hopes that someone knows the answer. I actually think a professional tattoo artist might be better at doing the nipple tattooing since this is their profession. Any thoughts, anyone? Ohilly

    My experience
    I guess I kind of had the best of both worlds. I had my tattoing done in the plastic surgeon's office by a tattoo artist about 2 weeks ago. I think the benefit of doing it with the plastic surgeon is that he numbs the area first and the tattooing itself is then virtually painless. I guess it also depends on how much feeling you have in your breast. My breasts are still pretty numb but I could feel some of the numbing injections quite intensely so I guess I would have felt pain without it. I definitely do think that you might get better results with at tattoo artist since it is their profession, but I really don't know how safe it would be. Good luck with your research!

    Trisia
  • survivorbc09
    survivorbc09 Member Posts: 4,374 Member
    #6
    Eil4186 said:

    Hi Ohilly. I have several
    Hi Ohilly. I have several tattoos and the needles only go in about the depth of a few human hairs. I wouldn't think it would puncture the implants.

    Can you find another plastic
    Can you find another plastic surgeon around you that does it? I would rather have them do it, then, just a tattoo artist. But, I really don't know. Just be careful.

    Good luck Ohilly
  • Terri5
    Terri5 Member Posts: 24
    #7
    ohilly said:

    explanation
    Okay, I said I wouldn't get into all the details, but I guess I will: the original plastic surgeon, although an excellent surgeon technically, was a horrible human being. He cancelled the nipple tattooing three times, and the last time I had already driven 45 minutes to his office, cancelled my entire job for the day, only to be told at the last minute that he couldn't do it. He did numerous other things that I consider unethical, and refuses to speak to me over the phone (he only has PA speak to patients, never him, even in an emergency). So I am done with him. I then went to a major teaching hospital in Chicago who said they would take over and do the nipple tattooing. They called me last week and said they have to cancel because their nipple tattooer unexpectedly left. They said they have to get back to me with a new date, but it has been several days and they haven't called yet.

    Oh, I forgot to say that my original plastic surgeon is being sued by the husband of one of his patients for having sex with her (this appeared in our local newspaper)!

    In the meantime, I found a professional tattoo artist who agreed to do the procedure for free if I promise to donate money to a cancer charity. So now I am researching out to see if it is safe to have a tattoo artist do it instead of at a hospital. I emailed my breast surgeon about this and am posting on this board in hopes that someone knows the answer. I actually think a professional tattoo artist might be better at doing the nipple tattooing since this is their profession. Any thoughts, anyone? Ohilly

    Go with the professional
    Go with the professional artist, they'll do a better job. If they are legit. everything is clean and they know what they're doing, they'll be able to match it perfectly to your other breast. I had mine done at the doctors office, and they royally screwed it up. It looks terrible and to think she does this a lot to other patients.
  • susie09
    susie09 Member Posts: 2,930
    #8
    survivorbc09 said:

    Can you find another plastic
    Can you find another plastic surgeon around you that does it? I would rather have them do it, then, just a tattoo artist. But, I really don't know. Just be careful.

    Good luck Ohilly

    Hi Ohilly! Just be sure
    Hi Ohilly! Just be sure that you find someone, a plastic surgeon or a tattoo artist that has done this a lot and be sure and ask to see pictures. Sometimes it turns out good and sometimes it has turned out horrible, from what I have read.

    Good luck to you!
  • bfbear
    bfbear Member Posts: 380
    #9
    susie09 said:

    Hi Ohilly! Just be sure
    Hi Ohilly! Just be sure that you find someone, a plastic surgeon or a tattoo artist that has done this a lot and be sure and ask to see pictures. Sometimes it turns out good and sometimes it has turned out horrible, from what I have read.

    Good luck to you!

    Ohilly...
    I am scheduled to have my new nipples tatooed and burned in by my plastic surgoen in October. I'm really ambivalent about the whole thing, honestly, just because I'm tired of everybody playing with my foobs.

    But I have tattoos in other areas, and I have no doubt that a reputable tattoo artist could do a very fine job without puncturing the implants (and my implants are under muscle...aren't yours??? That's much deeper than any tattoo needle will go).

    Your issues have got me thinking I need, at the very least, to see more of my PS's work. She does nipple "reconstruction" by making a little cylinder of skin flaps, and using a tool similar to a woodburning tool as well as tattooing to recreate the areola. Although she's explained all of this to me, I'm thinking I need to see more pix....

    Let us know what you decide.

    Debi
  • Kylez
    Kylez Member Posts: 3,761 Member
    #10
    bfbear said:

    Ohilly...
    I am scheduled to have my new nipples tatooed and burned in by my plastic surgoen in October. I'm really ambivalent about the whole thing, honestly, just because I'm tired of everybody playing with my foobs.

    But I have tattoos in other areas, and I have no doubt that a reputable tattoo artist could do a very fine job without puncturing the implants (and my implants are under muscle...aren't yours??? That's much deeper than any tattoo needle will go).

    Your issues have got me thinking I need, at the very least, to see more of my PS's work. She does nipple "reconstruction" by making a little cylinder of skin flaps, and using a tool similar to a woodburning tool as well as tattooing to recreate the areola. Although she's explained all of this to me, I'm thinking I need to see more pix....

    Let us know what you decide.

    Debi

    Ohilly, I was going thru
    Ohilly, I was going thru some of the expression pages and came across a bc survivor named cherrera. She posted pics of her mastectomy afterwords. You might pm her and see where she got her nipple tattoing done.
  • Jeanne D
    Jeanne D Member Posts: 1,867
    #11
    Kylez said:

    Ohilly, I was going thru
    Ohilly, I was going thru some of the expression pages and came across a bc survivor named cherrera. She posted pics of her mastectomy afterwords. You might pm her and see where she got her nipple tattoing done.

    This would be a good thread
    This would be a good thread for some of the others to see, as, there is another one going about this very subject.
  • ohilly
    ohilly Member Posts: 441
    #12
    Jeanne D said:

    This would be a good thread
    This would be a good thread for some of the others to see, as, there is another one going about this very subject.

    my decision
    I think I decided to go with the tattoo artist: I called the University of Chicago Medical Center, and they still have not hired anyone to replace the person who did it who left. After being cancelled four times, I am getting the impression that the doctors don't really want to do this because it's not really a 'medical' procedure. I wish they would just be honest and say so. Anyway, I found a tattoo artist with some good reviews online. She took a special course to learn how to tattoo the nipples and is going to show me some photos. She also offered to do it for free if I agree to donate money to a cancer charity. Since there is an 8 week weight to get an appt. with her, in the meantime I will try again with the U of Chicago, and whoever is able to do it first I'll go with.

    Ohilly
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #13
    ohilly said:

    my decision
    I think I decided to go with the tattoo artist: I called the University of Chicago Medical Center, and they still have not hired anyone to replace the person who did it who left. After being cancelled four times, I am getting the impression that the doctors don't really want to do this because it's not really a 'medical' procedure. I wish they would just be honest and say so. Anyway, I found a tattoo artist with some good reviews online. She took a special course to learn how to tattoo the nipples and is going to show me some photos. She also offered to do it for free if I agree to donate money to a cancer charity. Since there is an 8 week weight to get an appt. with her, in the meantime I will try again with the U of Chicago, and whoever is able to do it first I'll go with.

    Ohilly

    Good luck to you Ohilly!

    Good luck to you Ohilly!

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