At A Glance
Author	Uberkitty
Contact	Uberkitty@bme.anon
IAM	Uberkitty
When	A week ago
Artist	Steve (iam: micro-wave)
Studio	Cape Fear Tattoo
Location	Greenville, NC

Background

When I was in high school I had my ears gunned three times (six total piercings). At the time I didn't see anything wrong with it. Then I turned 18 and began getting several modifications; the studs just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of my body anymore. I removed two of them and stretched the additional four to 14 gauge. But what I really wanted was to have a single set of ear lobe piercings stretched pretty far. The gunned placement was too terrible for anything but minor stretching so I eventually removed them all and let them heal over.

Deciding on Scalpelling

I really had two options at this point: the more traditional route of piercing relatively high (say, 6 or 4 gauge) then stretching them slowly over time, or immediately scalpelling up to my target size of 1/2 inch (13 mm). Scalpelling appealed to me more mostly because I'm so funny about stretching. I always wait at least six months between stretches, meaning that even if I started at 4 gauge it would take me at least 3 years to get them up to where I wanted and I don't like the look of many of the in between sizes since I don't find very large CBRs or very small plugs appealing.

Finding an Artist

I was unable to find any piercers in the area experienced in scalpelling and very few experienced in or willing to do larger gauge piercings so I basically sat back a while and waited for an opportunity to present itself. And it did. LostEtrnl was planning to get some genital beading and found someone to do so. Out of curiosity I asked who and I was sent to micro-wave; looking through his portfolio I found that he did scalpelling from nothing and on up to 00 gauge or even 1/2 inch. His work looked wonderful so I IMed him expressing my interest, gave him some basic information about me and asked a few questions.

Steve told me that he would use single flared pyrex eyelets with silicone o-rings. This impressed me because I react to standard black o-rings and would have had to special order them otherwise. He did warn me that not everyone was anatomically suited to be scalpelled all the way up to 1/2 inch but that, even if I couldn't, the stretching would be much easier with scalpelled ears than standard pierced ones.

Pre-procedure

Within two weeks of contacting Steve I was able to arrange a ride (thanks to John) out to Greenville to get to Cape Fear Tattoo. I ate a full meal just before I left on the two hour drive and was sure to bring some candy to get my blood sugar up one last time before the scalpelling. My hair was long enough to get in the way but too long to tie back normally so I wore a bandana.

When we walked in to Cape Fear Steve asked if he could help us and I told him I had come in for scalpelling. He introduced himself and asked to see my ears. I leaned over the counter and was quickly told that he would have no problem getting them to 1/2 inch. He took the pyrex flares out of the case and showed them to me while giving me a little information about the material. He asked for my approval before taking them back to be autoclaved and handing me the paperwork. He checked my ID then went back to set up the piercing room. 20 minutes later the autoclave had finished and everything was ready to go.

The Procedure

When I was asked back into the piercing room John followed me and asked if it would be ok to take pictures. Steve didn't have a problem with it. A tray had been set up with the jewelry, taper, scalpel, gauze and other assorted goodies still in there sterile packets. Steve washed his hands and put on the first pair of gloves while I sat on a table that had been covered in paper (the same type that you find in doctor's offices). Steve opened a couple packets of gauze and used them to thoroughly clean my ears with surgical scrub. I was then asked to lie back so that he could mark my ears. He assured me he wouldn't do anything without first telling me so there would be no surprises. From what I can tell he used a 1/2 inch surgical stainless steal plug as a template to mark the outer edges then draw a line through the circumference where it would actually be scalpelled. When he had finished marking them both he had me stand up and inspect them in the mirror to see if I thought they were even. They seemed fine to me but he still checked to make sure himself. At this point both John and Steve wanted to take pictures of the placement. I took this as an opportunity to eat a little candy.

I was quickly returned to the table and lying back. Steve was going to do my right ear first. He had taken the scalpel, taper and jewelry out of the packets and had the scalpel lined up and just touching my ear. He asked me if I was ready, when I said I was he asked me to take a deep breath in and breathe out slowly. On the first breath he didn't do anything, but on the second exhale I felt the scalpel quickly push through and cut my ear. I was surprised that it hurt so much less than I expected, and was so much quicker. He then told me he was going to start the taper through and that I would need to take the same deep breathes as before. When the taper first worked its way in I felt the back of my ear pop over the end of it much like a rubber band. On each exhale he pushed it a little more. At the halfway point he had to cut just a little more with the scalpel (oddly I felt the scalpel even less this time) before continuing and then inserting the jewelry.

I was at the halfway point and Steve told me I could take a break. I was feeling jittering and nervous so I was sure to sit up very slowly, but I quickly found I wasn't at all lightheaded. I ate a little more candy, just in case and Steve brought me a glass of water. My ear finally started to really sting but gradually calmed down over the course of the break. While I was drinking my water and posing for pictures Steve was already doing some preliminary cleaning up. The break lasted about 10 minutes (I was trying to rush it and Steve kept assuring me I could take as much time as I needed, which was very nice) during which I got a mini tour of the piercing room. It was entirely hands free. Everything; the sink, soap, paper towel dispenser, etc were either controlled with foot peddles or motion sensors. I still wasn't looking forward to getting my left ear done. Even though the right ear had gone much easer than I expected my left ear is my problem ear. It always hurts more, is more prone to problems, and contains more scar tissue. More than anything I wasn't looking forward to more tapering. Scalpels aren't much worse than a normal piercing needle but the body doesn't like metal rods to be pushed through fresh wounds.

Finally I was ready to continue. I returned to the table and Steve put on new gloves and had the scalpel waiting with its tip at my ear. He told me he still wouldn't do it until I told him I was ready one last time. I staled another minute before telling him. Once again I took a deep breath and on the second exhale the scalpel went through. I'm not sure why, but this time I was much more aware of everything going on. I heard the scalpel sawing away at my ear lobe and smelled the strong scent of blood and antiseptics. This time I yelped and winched in pain. I had forgotten my breathing techniques. Steve reminded me to breathe properly while he lined up the taper. Once again when it was pushed in I felt the back of my ear pop around the end up it. And once again at the halfway mark he did a little more cutting. Deep breathes really did help. When he was finished with the taper he told me I could wait a little before putting the jewelry in if I wanted, but remembering my ear really didn't start to sting until a minute or two had pasted I told him just to go on and put it in. A little more winching and I was finished.

I sat up slowly again only to find I still wasn't lightheaded (I still ate candy again though.) I was laughing and making jokes I was so happy it was done. I was given more water and Steve followed me around trying to clean the blood of my face and the back of my neck while John took even more pictures. I was disoriented and it actually took me a while to realize what everyone was doing. Steve had started actually cleaning the blood off my ears and I wasn't very happy about it. By then they were stinging really badly and I didn't want anyone to touch them. He told me that if I didn't have a problem cleaning it off myself once I was home he would stop. I was more than happy with that.

Post-procedure

Once I was alert enough to be aware of everything Steve went over the aftercare (basically do absolutely nothing to it aside from cleaning it with sea salt.) He gave me some H2Ocean, a product I've heard a lot about but never tried, then I paid, tipped, and was on my way back home. When I cleaned off the blood I also had to remove several strands of hair that were trying to tangle around the eyelets. The first night it was almost impossible for me to sleep (I had a tension headache from the entire thing) and for the better part of the second day my ears continued to ache and sting. The first two days I just used the H2Ocean but it wasn't cleaning as well as I would like so I have since switched to using H2Ocean in the morning and doing a traditional sea salt soak in the evening which is working very well for me. Now at day six the crust seems to be about equal parts blood and lymph. Some little flats of scar tissue and skin had been push out by the tapers and these are in the process of drying up and falling off (other people that have scalpelled their lobes have told me they experienced similar things.)

I haven't experienced any problems and Steve did an incredible job. It's hard to believe he was both so quick and so precise. It was a wonderful experience and I would go do it again. All in all it was like an intense piercing: It was a little more painful, the procedure was a bit longer, and my body's reaction to it was a little more extreme.