It’s certainly not unusual for transdermals to go bad (and I’ll even go so far as to propose that most will eventually fail and need removal), but this is definitely one of the most aggressive removals I’ve seen. That said, I have to admit that the stitched up version looks pretty happy in comparison to most mutli-transdermal removals. Procedure (but not the original transdermals) by Howie/Lunacobra.
I know I say this all the time, but seriously — any modification you get, be prepared to eventually remove it or worse. That doesn’t mean don’t do it… just understand the risks involved and decide whether it’s worth it for you… Nothing is guaranteed to last forever, and in fact, most things are guaranteed not to last forever.
Comments
127 responses to “Transdermal Strip Removal”
Admittedly I know nothing about transdermals, or their removal, but I have seen Jake recently and his head is looking great. He has a thin line of scar tissue, which is straight and even and looks a Hell of a lot better than 5 random bald patches would have.
i 100% agree with _Stigmata_. i dont see the need of taking that much skin
Paleblue….what makes you an expert anyway??? are you fully qualified?? no…didnt think so.
Alright, let me just clear this all up.
Howie is an irresponsible, dangerous practitioner, and so is haworth, and jessie makes shit jewelery and doesnt know what the fuck hes doing. I can think of four practitioners in the WORLD who arent complete fucking idiots who should be incarcerated for what theyve done, and NONE of them have been mentioned in this thread.
You have a problem with it? Then why dont you come down to the horseshoe bar on 7th street and avenue B in New York City on Friday, March 23rd, between 6:30 and 8pm, when I will be holding court. You’ll see the orchids on my left arm and the very expensive glasses on my face.
There, now no one has to be behind a keyboard. I’ll be there. I’ll of course report the very next day about how many of you morons show up to tell me what you think. (or take a swing at me, either way)
Oh by the way, I expect to see YOU there, cammy. Nice myspace page.
Oh wait, cammy, I see that youre fifteen. I do NOT expect to see you there, and also, at fifteen, you have exactly nothing of any relevance to add to this debate. Shoo.
^^ I’d assume the ’15 years old’ refers to the piercing shop, not the MySpace owner. If not, underage = GTFO.
From a neutral point of view, I’d be interested in hearing who the four practitioners you mentioned are yttrx?
You’ll see them on http://www.yttrx.net later this evening after I post what I’ve learned from a couple of anonymous sources who have been reading this thread. And just so its said here (as well as yttrx.net), I mean people who are professional practitioners, not people who occasionally do favors for friends, or rig for suspensions, etc.
Nice one, I’ll look out for your blog entry.
Yttrx/Inza – The reason that I don’t personally think that it’s worthwhile to focus on individual practitioners is because I am far more concerned with people understanding that there are major (but manageable) risks with ALL practitioners. I worry a lot when individual practitioners are demonized, because it gives the false impression that you can go to someone else and be significantly safer.
Yes, of course some practitioners are safer than others. Some are cleaner than others. Some are faster than others. Some are willing to push the boundaries farther than others. Etc. But the fact is that the core underlying risks are not that different from person to person.
_Stigmata_ – I realize that you don’t agree with the way this was done, and you have some valid points, but I don’t think it’s so one-sided. I strongly believe that this is how most doctors would have done this procedure (especially if the goal was to restore the hair follicles, which by definition REQUIRES a larger removal), and if I was in Jake’s shoes, this is almost exactly the procedure that I would use for removal as well.
Shannon:
The reason that I don’t personally think that it’s worthwhile to focus on individual practitioners is because I am far more concerned with people understanding that there are major (but manageable) risks with ALL practitioners.
That’s true, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong to point out practitioners who do messy, unsafe work. When Taco Bell has a rat infestation in a store or an E. Coli outbreak, it’s released to the public because people have a right to know how safe the goods and services they want to spend their money on are.
The fact that there are safety issues en masse within the industry shouldn’t be a reason to protect the identities of individuals who do sub-standard work, regardless of their popularity or “importance.”
Basically, the cults of personality that develop in this community need to be challenged and destroyed as much as possible, because it seems like a lot of people are afraid to come forward with precautionary tales, lest they be hounded by X-practitioner’s sycophants and acolytes. If the industry really wants to grow and flourish, the low-hanging fruit needs to be eliminated, and that can’t happen when people keep their mouths shut.
Im no dr but im just curious what reason there was for him to not make just one big slit up the center and fish lip style cut the lil extra flaps around where the pieces were. so there were not those lil bald spots that everyone seems to be focused on. it would have done the same thing would it not have? I dont have pics from parts of my removals but i got it on video to show you more what i mean if you get confused. i should send you a copy anyways. its kinda funny to watch these fuckewrs come out in the first place. especially when the dr starts making the big gaping wound sing like homer simpson. I fully understand pushin the limits and taking risks. then again i see some things done that didnt need to be. thats why i am so bothered by it. i need to get you the video. but it comes to a sudden stop when the guy filming got very ill when my head was opened up so he dropped the camera and the film ends hahaha
“Im no dr but im just curious what reason there was for him to not make just one big slit up the center and fish lip style cut the lil extra flaps around where the pieces were.
”
you don’t have to be a doctor to see that this method of removal would have uneven tension on the wound and leave a terrible result. Think about it, in actuality you would be making the surface area of the edges larger.
You don’t need to be a dr, but you must have used a craft knife in your time, I know small round shapes are more difficult to make than a long straight one.what cuts do you prefer to make when you’re after a neat result?
I’m pretty lucky where I live (Queensland Australia) in that it’s legal to have synthetic plastics or metals implanted under the skin in registered studios. It’s also legal to scar as well as pierce and tattoo.
Why they have legalised this, is that the standards you have to maintain to be a registered studio, are the same Australian national standards used by day surgeries and dentists. Where this was done will be able to tell you what load for the day that the gauze was sterilised in.
“Im no dr but im just curious what reason there was for him to not make just one big slit up the center and fish lip style cut the lil extra flaps around where the pieces were.
”
A logical thinker would see that this method of removal would have uneven tension on the wound and leave a terrible result. Think about it, in actuality you would be making the surface area of the edges larger.
You don’t need to be a dr, but you must have used a craft knife in your time, I know small round shapes are more difficult to make than a long straight one.what cuts do you prefer to make when you’re after a neat result?
I’m pretty lucky where I live (Queensland Australia) in that it’s legal to have synthetic plastics or metals implanted under the skin in registered studios. It’s also legal to scar as well as pierce and tattoo.
Why they have legalised this, is that the standards you have to maintain to be a registered studio, are the same Australian national standards used by day surgeries and dentists. Where this was done will be able to tell you what load for the day that the gauze was sterilised in.
I had a transdermal implanted almost a month ago now, and going into it I KNEW there is pretty much little to no chance of it ever fully healing. I thought about it for a long time, and I after years still wanted one, so I got one, what kind of luck am I having with it? Well, as of now it is leaning to one side slightly.
But I am not going to blame that on the artist, the artist who put it in did an amazing job, it’s quite known that transdermals don’t work out perfectly.
I think people are too quick to blame an artist for how some things turn out (somtimes the cause is justified, and I think we should know who the original artists were so we can make educated experiences based on their previous practices).
I don’t see anything wrong with any procedure as long as the individual recieving the procedure is completely educated and informed on any risks and about different options he/she has.
Screw it – I’d get it done this way just for the bracelet! 😉
OK, that’s my flippant pre-post out of the way. I’d add a thought-out useful post, but more experienced folk than me have already made better comment to the same end.
Shannon, or anyone else: are we assuming this implant was a sub standard to begin with? I don’t see how we/they/anyone can make that assumption based solely on the one close up picture. It looks to me like a standard rejecting and irritated transdermal implant. Why are people assuming that the original artist did shody work?
im no doctor but as least i dont get high and let dogs run around my piercing studio
I wonder if I’ll get a huge up side down triangle scar is my transdermals get that bad 😛
oscar navarro did the mohawk
there could have been more contributing factors as to why the transdermals were rejecting besides bumping them. And at the severity of the rejection, from first look, it can almost be ruled that the pieces were put in the wrong layer. When will people actually start to seek out others to work with and get at least a firm understanding instead of jumping into proceedures such as implants “head-first”? That is the whole reason have not fully begun to do them myself.
That being said, the implants are gone, there were a few different methods on how the removal could have been done. Even though it was a bit extreme removing a “belt” of tissue to get them out, what’s done is done. I just want to see the healed product.
the fact is that Howie is a hack and has no place working in Australia.
and working without a Visa and working with out an “infection control cert” in queensland.
everything howie does he fucks up….
i think the work is amazing. if you go to iam silicun page and see the healed photo you can see this way to remove work very well, great job Howie! i allways think he make nice works
i’m sorry but anyone who would go to a piercer for this and not a doctor deserves the massive brain infection that they are likely to get.
seriously. this is fucking STUPID.
Cool pics!!!
save the strip…make a bracelet of it… 🙂
OW OW OW!!!!!Gruesome!!!! Hope he healed ok.