Tattoo visit

Gene and I went to Long Island, New York on Wednesday May 5, 2010 to get my nipple/areola tattooed . We had to go to the office where my plastic surgeon works for this particular procedure. It was a bad morning. It should of took us around 80 minutes and it took us forever!!! We left at 9:05 for a 11:15 appointment. The usual morning hectic commute should of been over by this time. The traffic was bumper to bumper all the way out of CT and traffic in New York as well. We barely made it there in time. The building was a beautiful  glass building. I had to go to the anesthetic office which is on a different floor then the plastic surgeons. I had a short consultation with the representative who would be doing my work to review the procedure and my medical information. She took a few pictures and went to get all the supplies ready. She expressed how well I looked. She was impressed with my plastic surgeons work. She said she has seen some bad jobs and my implants were one of the best she has seen. At this time Gene had left and would meet me in about a hour - hour half when I was finished. I had to wait another ten minutes until she returned. I was in a small room and I didn't realize we were waiting for the larger room to be available.

We decided to have a pinkish tone for me since I have light skin. She first outlined my areola area with a pencil that looked like a eyeliner. She examined my breast several times and I was wondering what she was looking at. It turned out that she was examining to see if the nipple area was even and where she had to make adjustments. She noticed that my right side was a little bit higher than my left side. She was good to notice that! I started to think about it for a minute and I forgot that would happened. I had radiation on my right side and the radiation had tighten the skin bringing this side higher. It's a slight difference that I didn't notice and with a person who doesn't have implants  they don't have the same size breast anyways. I forgot and really didn't notice it but she was examining  to make sure the job is perfect. I guess I have moved on from the past and forgot that would happened.She mixed a pink and a brown color together to achieve the color she wanted. She did this step several times to get the color she thought would look best. She would put some color on my skin (breast) to see if it matched.Once she achieved the color, she wiped off the excess and we were ready to start. I was lying down for the procedure. I was thinking to take a volume before the tattoo started to help me be calm but I forgot to bring one with me.
She started on my right side. When she first started it was painful. Oooo I thought I wasn't going to be able to make it through the procedure. She then started to chit chat with me so that helped me to be distracted. The pain did get better. I can describe the pain as a quick needle prick then stop and then again. If you can think of a clock, for some reason it hurt only around the 3:00 and 6:00 area. She said she had heard this from other patients who had this procedure as well. She explained that some of my nerves have developed and that's why I feel it in some areas and where I don't feel it the nerves haven't developed yet. It was tolerable procedure at this point. As she was coloring them in, she was surprised how my skin was responding. She can tell the color was taking right away. The procedure actually puts the needle slightly under the skin to add the color. She was about done with this side and I didn't even feel or know she colored in the nipple. I only felt a slight pressure.

She moved over to the left side. I was a little tense when she was about to begin because I don't like pain and was expecting to feel the needle pricks again. I couldn't believe it! This side was a piece of cake as far as the pain. I only felt a slight  pressure and that was it. I was so happy that the procedure was going to end with a happy experience. She did say for some reason on my left side the nipple wasn't taking the color as well but the areola was okay. She mentioned if I decide to come back in 7-10 years to have them tattoo again since the color does fade over time that I might have a  different experience. The nerves might be fully developed. We will cross that path down the road. She was done and I was able to look into the mirror before she put the gauze over the area. Wow they looked great and different. I was used to them being so light and now the area looks real. She put Bacitracin ointment on both sides and explained this need to be done twice a day for three days then covered it with a gauze. After the three days I apply Aquaphor twice a day up to two weeks total. The final color will take about two weeks to show the actual color that will remain. She also fanned out the color pass the areola area a little bit to help them have the effect as real nipples. She mentioned that I need to follow up for a two week appointment. Since I live so far away my plastic surgeon is in CT once a week for appointments and I will see her instead. She mentioned she would be excited to see how they turned out. I told her maybe my plastic surgeon can show her a picture so she knows how her final art work turned out! She asked me to call her and let her know how I think they turned out after two weeks. She mentioned if I felt I needed them darker or more color to call her and she can add some more. I think they will be good at this point.

The area we were in was beatiful. It was a warm day and I met Gene outside where he was reading a book. There were several restaurants next door so we had a nice lunch together before heading back home. The drive home was good and much better than the way there.

I am sorry for the late posting. It has been so busy on my end. I did speak with my OBGYN so check back soon for more updates. My medical life is keeping me busy at this point.