Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

1. You asked for it!
The autobiographical (as in all questions submitted by the person they are about) quiz is up. I'm sure the clever people can guess the URL, but why bother when you can just click here to answer the 26 true/false questions now.

2. You might be asking for it!
I posted this in a forum recently in regards to someone considering getting implants done. I wanted to post it here to make sure it doesn't scroll away. Things like this will be included in BME/risks when it's added (soon, soon), and that will of course include references as well (for those of you who need specific proof that I'm not just making it up).

The discussion was about implants rejecting; it was mentioned that pointy (for example pyramid shaped) implants can reject quite quickly. I felt it was important to point out the often overlooked obvious:

ALLLLLLL ALLLLLLL ALLLLLLL implants (and most other mods) will do long term damage to the tissue both above and below them. How much will of course vary from person to person and from implant to implant according to shape and material, but if you get implants, you must:

1. Accept the fact that you might need to take it out, and that depending on the implant, taking it out may be a far more destructive procedure than the putting it in.
2. Understand that problems may not become apparent for a decade or more, and just because some people haven't had significant problems in the short-term does not make a procedure safe.
3. Accept the fact that damage, perhaps slight, perhaps significant, will be done in the surrounding area at a minimum. Accept the fact that the practioner may be utterly unaware of these risks and may even deny them.
4. If you are putting the implant on top of muscle (ie. most arm implants, off-centre chest piercings, etc.), realize that irreversable damage will be done to that muscle, leading to permanent physical disability.
5. If you are putting the implant on top of bone (ie. sternum implants, forehead implants, etc.), realize that irreversable bone resorption will occur.
6. If you are putting the implant on top of tendons/ligaments/etc. (ie. hand implants, inner wrist and forearm, etc.), realize that irreversable damage will be done to the functionality of these parts.
7. If you are putting the implant on top of nerve bundles (many many muscular implants have this problem) realize you will do both short term and long term damage to both the nerves at the implant and anywhere "down the nerve tree" from there.
8. If you are using carved silicone or other carved implants, realize that there may be no way to properly sterilize the implant, and that contaminants may be released in the long term. Realize that the person doing the implant will quite likely be unaware of these facts.
9. Realize that the materials being used on you may not be fully biocompatible and you may react to them. Realize that the people putting the implant in you may well be lying about the materials. Realize that if it's not a doctor doing the implant, that there may be no way for the practitioner to legally get quality supplies (leaving them as either criminals or someone using poor supplies).
10. Realize that the worst case scenario is not just "take it out", but could be as extreme as permanent physical disability or death.
11. Realize that if problems develop, you may need to see a doctor/hospital, and you may need to fly to see the practitioner for removal -- be sure you can afford this backup plan.

Steps can be taken to minimize these risks, but they can not be eliminated entirely. With care, the risks can be pushed into the negligable (ie. safe) range -- with a bit of common sense, it's quite obvious what should work and what definitely won't. I don't think people should stop doing these procedures, but I sure hope that people understand both the short term and long term risks when they do it.

Realize as well that 99% of the practirioners doing these procedures are not medically qualified to do and that they may not even be aware of that fact. Realize as well that most will give you little to no risk disclosure (an explanation of all possible problems), and often don't even know what it is. Most importantly, realize that although these procedures are not really that difficult, that handling the myriad of potential complications is what doctors specialize in... Very few "underground practitioners" are properly trained in handling these -- I can think of only a small handful, and the majority of those have gone through some degree of medical training and maintain an extremely low profile.

There is a surprising amount of practical knowledge on these subjects contained in the medical websites on the net. Educate yourself!!! It's the only way to be ensure a high chance of safety and success! Also, plastic surgery books come up regularly at excellent prices on eBay -- I just bought a book two weeks ago for something like $15 that was SPECIFICALLY on biocompatibility in genital implants. Amazing specialty book for almost nothing...

I want to make it very clear that similar notes that I've made above about implants can be made about almost all mods, and that I will be doing so over the next few months. As soon as you do an invasive procedure on your body, you put yourself at risk. I believe that it's a valid and justified risk, but it's a decision that people must make with a complete awareness of all the issues involved.