One type of implant I’ve always liked are the ones that mess with the person’s anatomy — Eaten Placenta’s ribcage bumps are a good example, as are these forearm implants (manufactured by Alejandro Hernandez) done on Johan Guardia by Juan Castro of Poder Sin Limites Body Mods (“Unlimited Power Body Mods”) in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Now, assuming my Spanish isn’t failing me, this is “doble joroba”, that is, two implants, not three, done using 12mm (1/2″) x 55mm (2″) Teflon half-domes. The third bump is the natural bump of Johan’s wrist, and I think Juan has done a great job cleanly aesthetically integrating this implant into Johan’s anatomy.

But what I really love about this particular implant is that if Johan ever has to go to a hospital ER, it’s going to the make the doctors FREAK THE FUCK OUT as they imagine the horrible compound fracture in his arm. That said, I won’t be so amused if the doctors break his arm trying to fix what doesn’t need fixing!

When cosmetic surgeons do cheek implants or jaw implants and things like that, they generally use cast implants that come in a few basic sizes and shapes. These are not exactly “one-size-fits-all” (or even “large-size-fits-all-large-heads”) and it’s not unusual for doctors to take these implants and carve them both for fit and aesthetic. It’s possible to do that in our body modification world as well, and that’s what Arseniy Andersson of Total Ink Body Modifications in St. Petersburg did for this customer, taking a set of Steve Haworth-manufactured implant rods and carving them into a custom shape for the forearm of this photogenic customer — a great way of using an implant with a known and proven high quality and turning it into something one-of-a-kind without the trouble of carving a block or the cost of casting a complete custom implant. This photo was taken a month and a half after the procedure.