It's been three months since I got my earlobes scalpelled. I paid $140 to get my ears cut from 5/8ths to 7/8ths and instead am sitting here with the left at 3/4 and the right at a 4 gauge.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist "R" Studio "A" Location Calgary
How the heck did that happen?
I know how it happened, but I can't understand why. I guess I'll explain how it happened.
It all started when I decided once again that I wasn't satisfied with the size my ears were at. I didn't find the designs on 5/8 jewelry to be detailed enough. Jewelry at larger sizes looked so much nicer and unfortunately I decided on going bigger after buying all those 5/8 jewelry.
I was planning on taking the route that was stretching by wrapping my pyrex tube plugs with teflon tape. This lasted only a week as I realized that it would only make my thin spot worse. I'll have to mention that while my lobes did have thin spots, that it wasn't bad.
I know enough about piercings and the like to know that I had other options of getting to my desired size. Scalpelling was one (as mentioned in this bme encyclopedia entry), but I didn't know if the shop I went to offered this service so I decided to pay them a visit.
Yes, they did. Scalpelling was to cost me $100 (canadian) plus the single flared pyrex tube plugs which were $40. Since I had the money and the time, I saw no reason to not get it done immediately. "A" only accepts cash so this meant I had to walk over to the bank (10 minutes-- you'll see why this tidbit is important) to get the cash.
As soon as I returned, "R" was ready to begin. I followed him into the piercing room where he had me lay on the table after I had removed my 5/8 jewelry.
I had watched a scalpelling procedure before so I let "R" know that I did know what the procedure looked like. I told him the name of the piercer who I observed do the scalpelling. He got cocky and told me that he was faster. Sure, faster would be better as long as it got done right.
I had taken note of how careful "R" was being with not cross-contaminating as he kept changing those purple gloves of his repeatedly. I had seen all the tools that were to be used on me come right out of the autoclave packet.
He put over a dental bib type of paper over my ear, and marked them with ink. That seemed to take forever as he had to ask the other piercer go get him a ruler. When he was finally done, he asked me if I was ready. I gave him the green light but instead of beginning he held the taper in his hand and told me that it was still warm and to just wait a minute. No problem.
Once the minute was up, he proceed with the scalpelling. At first, the pain was perfectly bearable... but then he started to move the scalpel as if it was a saw. That hurt a lot but nothing compared to the pain I got when he dropped the taper in my ear.
Remember how I said his tools came right out of the autoclave packet? It also came straight out of the autoclave itself. The taper felt red hot and let me tell you, a red hot taper against an open cut does NOT feel good. I couldn't help but wriggle my feet and make noise.
It took about 2 minutes for him to force the jewelry in and then fumble with the o-rings which were a size smaller. I sighed with relief after this was over and wondered what the heck was he thinking. I came up with an excuse for him that he probably couldn't feel how hot it was with gloves on.
I insisted on waiting 15 minutes before he started on the left ear. That one went beautifully. The taper was only warm when he used it on the left although I think it would've felt much nicer if it was cold.
I was so happy with the results. Aside from the blood showing through the jewelry, I thought I had picked the perfect size. I paid up and left.
For the next 24 hours, I had my right ear drip blood plasma like crazy. It was actually dripping right off my earlobe and onto my shoulder. I couldn't help but peel off the dried up blood plasma. My hair was even stuck to the blood plasma and it hurt to pull my hair off. I was definitely concerned so I went back to "A" the next day.
"R"'s answer was, "The right looks a little cooked but it'll be fine. They're doing very good." He gave me a couple of packets of saline wipes and sent me off thinking that everything would be fine. I was surprised how he acknowledged the fact that my right lobe had gotten cooked but didn't apologize.
Two weeks later, the oozing plasma was long gone which was good but I noticed how my right lobe had gotten considerably thinner. The day I noticed was late on Saturday evening and "A" isn't open on Sunday or Mondays so I resorted to another piercing place. The piercer who worked there wasn't much help but she agreed that my ear looked frighteningly thin. I asked her if it was possible for the body to reject jewelry as large as 7/8. She gave me the answer I didn't want to hear and that night, I removed both jewelry. I removed both because I hate the look of asymmetrical lobes.
With the jewelry removed, I got a really good look at how bad my right lobe was. On top of looking so thin, I noticed how the fistula had gotten ripped. So, not only did "R" cook my ear, but he also ripped it.
The 5/8ths went in and within the week, I visited "R" again. I told him how my right lobe had gotten ripped and he checked it out at the counter. He told me that it was just discoloration that would go away and that I could stretch my ears to 3/4.
I knew it was NOT discoloration so I was more than happy to go back in the piercing room and removed my jewelry for him to see. He put in a 3/4 single flared sss tunnel that he was ever oh so kind to loan to me into my left lobe. It went in there with ease but as for the right, he just put my 5/8ths right back in.
He knew he had f***ed up my ear but still didn't apologize. At this point, I was really angry.
Fast forward another week later, my ear STILL was not doing good. It was no longer an open wound (scabby, maybe but not open) so I removed the 5/8 for my right completely.
I'm glad I did this even though nobody told me to. Obviously I could no longer trust "R"'s advice. As of now, I can't fit anything bigger than a 4 gauge in my right ear. The hole looks around 4 gauge untouched, as did my 5/8ths did when they didn't have any jewelry in them. The difference though is how the hole won't stretch at all. It's completely stiff.
A pair of 5/8 lobes which is what I started with equals 32 millimeters. One 7/8 (I'll go ahead and pretend my left is still at this size) and a 4ga would be 27mm. There's no question about it, I got ripped off big time.
I had to build up the confidence to walk in "A" and ask "R" for my money back. I was scared he wouldn't since he hadn't offered to return my money let alone apologize to me. In order to improve my chances of getting my money back, I went to the clinic and had a doctor look at it. He wasn't much of a help but did refer me to a plastic surgeon. It was that bad.
Asking "R" for my money back wasn't easy as I had to ask three times because the first two times, he went on to tell me stories including one about how the old method was to cauterize the wound.
WHAT?! Was that his plan in the first place? I don't think so. He finally apologized before returning my money but the exact phrasing was, "I'm sorry you're unhappy
I resisted the urge to say "I'm sorry you're an asshole". I didn't because I really wanted my money back. He offered to fix it, but like I said, there was no way I was going to trust him again.
When he finally understood that I was there for my money back, he had the nerve to negotiate. "How about $50?" to which I replied, "I wanted both done, not just one."
That did it, he handed me $100. I really wish I could've gotten $140 back since those 7/8 tube plugs I have are now completely useless.
I understand that people make mistakes, but when people make mistakes, especially one as major as this I expect some sort of compensation and I certainly shouldn't have had to ASK.
What really upsets me is how this place is actually one of the most reputable place in Calgary. I got referred to them by my old piercing place in Vancouver. I've heard nothing but good things about them.
And now? I have nothing good to say about them. I paid good money for "R" to ruin my ear.
Anyway, watch out- even the most reputable shop can pull a fast one.