At A Glance
Author	strawberry
Contact	strawberry@bme.anon
IAM	strawberry
When	A month ago
Artist	Brian Decker
Studio	Pure
Location	Brooklyn,NY

I had been looking into getting my outer conch(es) punched for quite some time. I had the inner ones done a few months earlier and even if the experience hadn't been much fun in terms of pain, I was very happy with the results and thought that large gauge cartilage piercings look neat. Since my inner conches and lobes (and a tiny rook) were my only ear mods, I felt a bit 'naked' and wanted more.
I researched as much as I could about outer conch punching and spoke to a few people who had theirs done. They all agreed that it hurt, badly, and took quite a bit to heal.
Now, if you know me, you know I am a big pussy when it comes to pain. I do respect those who can go through everything from split tongues to nipple stretching without batting an eyelid and with a smile on their face, but that's not me. Sorry. A quick hit of pain I could do with. Months of an unhappy, sore ear, not so much.

Over the years, I have had a bunch of mods done by Brian Decker. I flew from Europe a couple of times to get cut, sliced and stitched up by him. To date, I don't regret it and whatever modification he has given me has always healed beautifully and resulted in a happy addition to my body. No wonders I contacted him when I decided that I wanted to get my outer conches punched.
A few months before, he'd mentioned a technique I hadn't ever heard of: punching the cartilage and stitching up the hole at the perimeter (so to speak), letting it heal without jewelry. No jewelry equals a lot less pressure and a much faster healing time, both of which were very appealing to me.
The week before I decided to go ahead and get my ears done, Brian was in Vegas for the APP and had done a similar procedure on a pair of inner conches. The results were magnificent and it was the validation needed.

I set my appointment for a Monday, when the shop could be nice and quiet. I'd discussed the procedure with Brian via IM on IAM and was ready to go and all hyped up. When I arrived at the shop we chatted a bit, I had my usual diet iced tea and was very relaxed.
My friends Cere and Becky were at the shop, too, since Cere was getting tattooed by Joy, so I had a chance to catch up with them, too. When Cere started to get inked, Brian went downstairs to set everything up. Ten minutes later, I was laying on his chair, my ears marked in dark blue: we were ready to start.
The largest gauge Brian could punch me at was 0. I was quite happy with it.
The dermal punch hurt, but a lot less than I though. The stitches, thankfully, I didn't really feel. I did experience a burning sensation all along but after a bit I got used to it. Some blue gel helped, too, and I'm very grateful that it was offered (Brian at this point is quite familiar with my very low pain threshold).
The stitches took absolutely forever. I'd say a couple of hours, since I was bleeding quite a bit and a 0 ga hole is tinier than you think if you have to stitch it up all around. However, Brian managed to put around 12 stitches which stopped the bleeding completely and made a very neat hole.
A piece of rolled up gauze was inserted in the hole, I was cleaned up and good to go. I felt a bit light-headed (more for the lack of food than for anything else since I realized I'd skipped lunch) so I got myself a bagel and some cookies and spent some more time hanging out at Pure's before I made my way home.

I was told to keep the gauze in for 24 hours, then change it; to keep the hole clean but not to over-clean it (especially since I had dissolvable sutures); in other words, to just let it be.
I stocked up on gauzes and ignored the hole for the first day. I took a couple of Aleves just in case, but the pain was minimal. The second day I tried changing the gauze. It didn't hurt, but it was a horrible feeling. I am not squeamish but there's something about touching my own wounds that makes me a bit queasy. For the second night, I slept with no gauze on. Again, my freshly punched ear was very well behaved, with no pain, no soreness and no real discharge either. When I woke up, however, I noticed that the hole had shrunk a bit and decided it was time to take action.
Later on that day, I happened to be around shopping for jewelry and got myself a 2 ga glass plug with a clear o-ring. I slid it in very easily (the hole is probably 1 ga, but I haven't been able to find any jewelry in that size and couldn't be bothered to order it since I was happy with my 2 ga plug) and I have been wearing it ever since.

I haven't really done anything to my punched ear other than leave it alone. I always make sure I rinse it properly after I shower and don't touch it with dirty hands, but that's about it.
In the four weeks I have had it, it has never given me any of the problems that my annoying non-stitched inner conches have and I am very happy with it.

I cannot recommend Brian enough and this technique works very well, especially for larger gauges punches. Brian took great care of me and took time to listen to and answer my questions, and it is not something you find very often.
I am going back to get my other ear done in a little bit (there was no time on that day) and I can't wait.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.