AboutBrian Skellie Expertise I can answer questions in regards to and not limited to: jewelry safety, specifically material, shape, proportion, and related issues; aseptic technique and sterilization as it applies to piercing safety; ethical issues of technique and bedside manner; the aftercare and recovery process for piercings.
Experience
Past/Present clients
Tens of thousands of one on one client experiences. http://www.piercing.org/ Body jewelry design and safety expert: Member ASTM committee F04(www.astm.org)
Member AAMI (www.aami.org)
Research advisor and educator for the APP for over a decade(www.safepiercing.org) teaching advanced studio setup, sterilization and equipment management, freehand piercing, aseptic/sterile technique and much more.
Distributor for SciCan StatIM sterilization and cleaning products. http://www.piercing.org/statim/
Expert: Brian Skellie Date: 5/28/2008 Subject: Navel Piercings Gone Wrong..Hope For A Third Time?
Question ok first i wanna say hello and ur awesome for taking time to read and respond to these questions. iam 32, i got my navel pierced at 19, and it lasted a good 7 yrs and one day i woke up and it was layin on my sheet, so idk if it ripped out in my sleep or rejected after THAT many years, but i had gone from like 120 lbs to 98, pretty quickly, so idk if that and the heavy weight of the piece i was wearing at the time (duh me and damn mall vendor jewelry which i'd never do again), it could have been a mized bag of things, but whatever it was out, i was freakin out, and there was just a few dots of blood, not much, but the skin was torn. i regret SOOO freakin much taking the ER dr's recommendation and seeing a plastic surgeon for it. i wanted it properly stitched up so i could repierce a couple yrs later and not have a scar cause i modeled at the time, my belly has always been VERY important to me, and my best asset. welp $2k later, iam left with a ditch in my belly. he stitched horizontally when he said it would be done vertically which made way more sense, and botched me up completely. the lip above my button isn't there really if i pinch i can get to something, probobly cause iam back at 120 lbs, but i gotto pull out the skin, it's caved in and looks a zillion times worse then before the P.S. i paid to deform me. i have since never modeled, worn crop tops, or bikinis its been very sad for me. i ended up searching for the best place i could find on long island ny, and one place wouldn't touch me, and the other place, the guy was more then confident, he could re-pierce fine, so i was elated. welp he did it, i cared for it, and 4 months in, i took it out, not cause i wanted to, but it right from the start, it looked crooked, which was an issue of course, i can no longer wear any heavy pieces naturally i wouldn't dream of it, and in order to cover the ditch it needed to be reverse rings and there are few pieces that would cover..wish they custom made pieces for people like me, but i digress, i hadn't even changed the barbell but one time, it never seemed to fully heal, it always was sore when touched in the middle, and ALWAYS felt so close to the surface, like the bar might just pop out, and eventually that fear is why i took it out. i wish he would have went much deeper:( i contacted the place they said it was normal to feel the bar but honestly i didn't find it normal enough for my discretion and didn't wanna risk another tear, so took it out myself and let it heal up..iam back to where i was b4 the piercing now, about a year or more afterwards. still having to cover up, its very depressing. i've honestly a few times, super glued wide dangling earings and certain belly jewelry, sawing off the insertion piece, and gluin it on. the only way to hide it enough to fake it, but still doesn't look right. i REALLY want a successful re-piercing but i wanna go to the VERY best there is..any places on li i haven't tried or NYC that can handle a difficult case, plz lemme know!! websites, email whatever you got. i fear a crooked shallow piercing again, and still am unclear why the first came out, but thinking bout it i bet it was the heavy jewelry i had worn for a few months and the weight loss, but i'll never know, and the second was done not well so i'll never know if i would reject another or if deeper it'll work or if its even doable for long term but iam VERY desperate, i loved the way i looked then, and now my belly is a mess, any info or help u can give me would be awesome. the stupid plastic surgeon when confronted, i know he knows he messed up, suggested i pierce the bottom...ahhhh ok..how is that going to help me hide your botch job? just make it more apparent. if i could even do both side of the upper navel where there is more of a lip and there was a custom pieces that could go into both holes and somehow look normal, i'd try it..anything but this ugly mess. thanks for listening. i have pics for the piercers if that will help in advance. thanks for your time and input. love, desperate in ny michele
Answer From what you describe, your navel may no longer be suited for long term jewelry wear, but sight unseen I would expect that you can try again.
http://www.mariatash.com/ in Manhattan are adept at navel piercing and jewelry, and make many custom designs to fit.
