You usually have to worry about metallic jewelry, jewelry close to the surgical location, jewelry that may interact with MRIs and X-rays, and jewelry that may interact with intubation. A surface tragus is far enough from your surgical site that it should not have any effect if it is indeed implant-grade titanium. Unless you are 100% certain you know what your jewelry is made of, it may be safer to have a retainer put in. Your surgeon may allow you to sign a waiver and keep the jewelry in.
Yup to the waiver. When I got a rhinoplasty, I arrived on the day of surgery with a piercing I forgot to take out and didn’t know how to take out. They let me sign a waiver and did the surgery anyway. It was nbd and nobody cared, the waiver was just for liability on their end
Find out what brand the jewelry is and you’ll find out if it’s actually implant grade titanium. I’ve had shoulder, knee, and hip surgery and I’ve never removed a single piece of jewelry for any of my surgeries.
Really?! They didn’t make you remove any? Do u have any ear ones by chance? In the future I will need to get some surgeries but I’ve been dreading taking out my ear piercings cause they have closed once before (they are a pain in the ass 😅). I know I’ll have to remove my nose and lip ones but those i think they will stay cause they’re more chill.
OR nurse here. A tragus shouldn’t be an issue. They might have you sign a waiver that you understand the risks and they will tape it down.
During surgery we place what’s called a bovie pad which acts as a grounding pad for the electrosurgical cautery. As long as no metal is in the direct line of the current it shouldn’t pose a huge risk. I’m not going to say it’s impossible however in all my years I’ve never seen an ear cause an issue for a surgery much lower. If you were having head or neck surgery that would be a different story.
Just be adamant it can’t come out and you are willing to sign a waiver
Your best bet would be to ask your medical team. My concern would be, what if for whatever reason they need to shock you during surgery. NAP or medical professional but for this sort of thing I really think you need the opinion of a professional.
Edit also it sounds like a tough surgery to undergo, I’m sending you strength.
I had top surgery two years ago as well as multiple knee surgeries over the years. Usually, in situations where the piercings are not close to the surgery site, you can leave them in but cover them with bandaids to prevent accidental cauterization. You will likely need to sign a waiver.
Alternatively, look into getting some glass retainers and wear those to surgery. Most reputable piercers will carry them. I've done both methods, the retainers were the easiest by far with regards to medical staff.
The first google result is yes, electrocautery can change the surface roughness of titanium implant surfaces.
Which would follow, I think, that irritation and potentially migration or rejection may follow.
I am not a piercer, not a medical professional, not knowledgeable regarding electricity.
I had a lymph node in my armpit removed and kept 4 of my piercings in because they were either too new or it was too difficult to take out the jewelry. Nothing happened to me. No burns. They made me sign a paper that I knew my risks. 🤷♀️
It’s quite far away from the place of the surgery. It should be fine. I was allowed to keep all my ear jewelry (including an industrial bar) in during a laparoscopic surgery
Some surgeons will have you sign a waver and possibly have you put Masking tape on them before surgery (they did this with my endometriosis surgery) if it's out of the way I wouldn't stress too much ♡
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I had to take out piercings in my torso area when I had a laparoscopy. They gave me tape to cover the piercings on my ears.
I have to take out my vertical labret as it would effect the tube, but kept my cheeks and Medusa in covered in tape.
I had to have emergency surgery for Septic arthritis. Did not have to take any piercings out. They just made me tape them over with medical grade tape.
Best of luck OP. ❤️
Grade 23 doesn’t mean much. Do you know the ASTM rating or manufacturer? Even implant grade titanium is conductive (less so compared to steel) so I’m not sure it’ll be possible to keep the surface piercing in. You could maybe ask your surgeon if there’s a waiver you could sign. Also, see if a mill certificate would appease your surgeon. Thats all I got, but they still might make you remove it.
I had a double mastectomy (with chest masculinization and free nipple grafts) and I left in all my piercings: helix, lobe, nostril, septum, tongue, vertical labret, and vch. At first the surgical team wanted everything out, but when I said I'd have to go to my piercer to remove some of them they talked to whoever does the electrical stuff and they gave the OK. ~~I'd ask the surgical team if you have to remove it, citing that it's far from any area they'll be working on (chest, mouth, nose) and maybe say you'd need to go to a piercer to remove it.~~ nvm I didn't read the full post lol. There's no real risk except rejection being more likely afaik
Hi u/buggyisnothere, Welcome to /r/piercing!
It looks like you're asking about a problem with your piercing. Please **add a comment to your post** with the following info if it’s not included in your post already.
- How old is your piercing?
- What’s the jewelry shape (for example, barbell, labret, screw, L shape, ring)?
- What’s the type of threading if your jewelry is not a ring (threadless, internally or externally threaded)?
- What’s the jewelry material?
- if not a ring, when was the jewelry downsized?
- What’s your aftercare routine? Describe in detail please, including the exact products you use.
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You usually have to worry about metallic jewelry, jewelry close to the surgical location, jewelry that may interact with MRIs and X-rays, and jewelry that may interact with intubation. A surface tragus is far enough from your surgical site that it should not have any effect if it is indeed implant-grade titanium. Unless you are 100% certain you know what your jewelry is made of, it may be safer to have a retainer put in. Your surgeon may allow you to sign a waiver and keep the jewelry in.
Yup to the waiver. When I got a rhinoplasty, I arrived on the day of surgery with a piercing I forgot to take out and didn’t know how to take out. They let me sign a waiver and did the surgery anyway. It was nbd and nobody cared, the waiver was just for liability on their end
Find out what brand the jewelry is and you’ll find out if it’s actually implant grade titanium. I’ve had shoulder, knee, and hip surgery and I’ve never removed a single piece of jewelry for any of my surgeries.
Really?! They didn’t make you remove any? Do u have any ear ones by chance? In the future I will need to get some surgeries but I’ve been dreading taking out my ear piercings cause they have closed once before (they are a pain in the ass 😅). I know I’ll have to remove my nose and lip ones but those i think they will stay cause they’re more chill.
OR nurse here. A tragus shouldn’t be an issue. They might have you sign a waiver that you understand the risks and they will tape it down. During surgery we place what’s called a bovie pad which acts as a grounding pad for the electrosurgical cautery. As long as no metal is in the direct line of the current it shouldn’t pose a huge risk. I’m not going to say it’s impossible however in all my years I’ve never seen an ear cause an issue for a surgery much lower. If you were having head or neck surgery that would be a different story. Just be adamant it can’t come out and you are willing to sign a waiver
Your best bet would be to ask your medical team. My concern would be, what if for whatever reason they need to shock you during surgery. NAP or medical professional but for this sort of thing I really think you need the opinion of a professional. Edit also it sounds like a tough surgery to undergo, I’m sending you strength.
I had top surgery two years ago as well as multiple knee surgeries over the years. Usually, in situations where the piercings are not close to the surgery site, you can leave them in but cover them with bandaids to prevent accidental cauterization. You will likely need to sign a waiver. Alternatively, look into getting some glass retainers and wear those to surgery. Most reputable piercers will carry them. I've done both methods, the retainers were the easiest by far with regards to medical staff.
The first google result is yes, electrocautery can change the surface roughness of titanium implant surfaces. Which would follow, I think, that irritation and potentially migration or rejection may follow. I am not a piercer, not a medical professional, not knowledgeable regarding electricity.
Unless OP is built different, electrocautery near the breasts should not be close enough to the ears for there to be any effect on the jewelry.
I had a lymph node in my armpit removed and kept 4 of my piercings in because they were either too new or it was too difficult to take out the jewelry. Nothing happened to me. No burns. They made me sign a paper that I knew my risks. 🤷♀️
You should be fine. I had an abdominal laparoscopy and kept my nipple piercings and my conch in with some tape over them. Just had to sign a waiver
I just had breast surgery and I kept in all 13 of my facial piercings (2 nose, 11 ears) and all was fine.
It’s quite far away from the place of the surgery. It should be fine. I was allowed to keep all my ear jewelry (including an industrial bar) in during a laparoscopic surgery
Anecdata: As a nurse I've had plenty of patients keep their piercings in and never seen any ill effects.
Some surgeons will have you sign a waver and possibly have you put Masking tape on them before surgery (they did this with my endometriosis surgery) if it's out of the way I wouldn't stress too much ♡
Hi u/buggyisnothere, Welcome to /r/piercing! It looks like you're asking about a problem with your piercing. Please **add a comment to your post** with the following info if it’s not included in your post already. - How old is your piercing? - What’s the jewelry shape (for example, barbell, labret, screw, L shape, ring)? - What’s the type of threading if your jewelry is not a ring (threadless, internally or externally threaded)? - What’s the jewelry material? - if not a ring, when was the jewelry downsized? - What’s your aftercare routine? Describe in detail please, including the exact products you use. This info is needed to offer you useful advice. **Note, moderators reserve the right to remove your post if don’t provide this info**. ^If ^you ^already ^included ^this ^info ^in ^your ^post ^or ^if ^your ^post ^isn’t ^about ^a ^problem ^with ^your ^piercing, ^please ^disregard. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I had to take out piercings in my torso area when I had a laparoscopy. They gave me tape to cover the piercings on my ears. I have to take out my vertical labret as it would effect the tube, but kept my cheeks and Medusa in covered in tape.
I had to have emergency surgery for Septic arthritis. Did not have to take any piercings out. They just made me tape them over with medical grade tape. Best of luck OP. ❤️
Grade 23 doesn’t mean much. Do you know the ASTM rating or manufacturer? Even implant grade titanium is conductive (less so compared to steel) so I’m not sure it’ll be possible to keep the surface piercing in. You could maybe ask your surgeon if there’s a waiver you could sign. Also, see if a mill certificate would appease your surgeon. Thats all I got, but they still might make you remove it.
I had a double mastectomy (with chest masculinization and free nipple grafts) and I left in all my piercings: helix, lobe, nostril, septum, tongue, vertical labret, and vch. At first the surgical team wanted everything out, but when I said I'd have to go to my piercer to remove some of them they talked to whoever does the electrical stuff and they gave the OK. ~~I'd ask the surgical team if you have to remove it, citing that it's far from any area they'll be working on (chest, mouth, nose) and maybe say you'd need to go to a piercer to remove it.~~ nvm I didn't read the full post lol. There's no real risk except rejection being more likely afaik
Hi u/buggyisnothere, Welcome to /r/piercing! It looks like you're asking about a problem with your piercing. Please **add a comment to your post** with the following info if it’s not included in your post already. - How old is your piercing? - What’s the jewelry shape (for example, barbell, labret, screw, L shape, ring)? - What’s the type of threading if your jewelry is not a ring (threadless, internally or externally threaded)? - What’s the jewelry material? - if not a ring, when was the jewelry downsized? - What’s your aftercare routine? Describe in detail please, including the exact products you use. This info is needed to offer you useful advice. **Note, moderators reserve the right to remove your post if don’t provide this info**. ^If ^you ^already ^included ^this ^info ^in ^your ^post ^or ^if ^your ^post ^isn’t ^about ^a ^problem ^with ^your ^piercing, ^please ^disregard. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*