No tattoos?

[WesternNYer]

4.5 hours under the needle day after release from cardiac cath...

4.5 hours under the needle day after release from cardiac cath...

I had a somewhat large tattoo started the day after my overnight cardiac cath was done( I popped the clot as I was leaving the hospital and had to stay overnight....)In retrospect...I would have requested an antibiotic prophalaxis had I been aware that the valve replacement was imminent.But I had been living with my symptoms for almost 2 years at that point That day,I also had the 3D echo I raved about in an earlier post with technology being test marketed by Phillips electronics.And the appointment was about a month in the making,knowing a second sitting would be required to finish it.Literally the next day I was informed the valve should be replaced before the left ventricle became too damaged or before my ejection fraction dropped below what they considered very good despite the considerable regurge.So.....I have a half finished tattoo that I plan on having finished on the anniversary of my surgery( That would be Nov 21st,2006). As always....the tattoo artist uses new(and then autoclaved ) needles and approved dyes from disposable pallettes...but figure one year is a safe bet. This would be my fifth tattoo in twenty years and the biggest of the five.I will access an antibiotic regimen prior to and during the completion of the work....withou which,,,I wouldn't have the work completed.Beyond the year....if graced as such....I look forward to it being completed as originally planned....As always...use the information you find here to the best of your abilities....and make your decision for yourself.Here's a pic if it will upload....If not ...trust me...it's a beauty...LOL Tim

 

[aussigal]

I am just chiming in that I too had NO IDEA what my BAV could or would ever lead to AVR...and did all sorts of supposed dangerous things even had 7 or 8 root-canals without the anti-b's cos I didnt even know I had a BAV all those years ago.


i had wanted to get a tattoo until I realised it would mean pricking me with a needle lots and lots of times to make a pretty picture,,and I dont like needles...

I am wondering though???? wouldnt coumadin make it bleed really badly? or did you get a tissue valve?

 

[Karlynn]

I always joked that I was going to get my OHS scar tattooed into a long stemmed rose. MMarshall, your angry M&M cracks me up. Any story behind that?

 

[mmarshall]

the story behind the m&m.....hhmmm...lol well back in the late 80's...early
90's, i use to compete on my bike doing freestyle tricks...the kind of stuff you see on x-games on espn...just not as good as they are now..lol well some of the clothing brands that were out back then was a clothing line called "bad boy club". they had this spiked hair surfer guy that had the angry face and was flexing his arm....it's the same face that those "no fear" stickers use. well i took that guy from the bad boy club clothing line and made an m&m guy out of it. my full name is michael allen marshall, so growing up...i always got the m&m jokes about my name. the color green was choosen before they came out with the female greeen m&m...why did they do that to me?...lol i thought about getting the tattoo for a couple of years before i decided to do it...i wanted to make sure that it was something that i wanted for the rest of my life. well i went out to celebrate my 21st b-day and a bottle of yager later....i decided it was a good time to do it i don't regret it and i'm glad i did it since it is original. i new i had a heart murmur since i was a week old but never thought about open heart surgery in the future...of course when you are in college you just don't think about those things...well as i guy i didn't so now it looks like it was planned because of the scar....my cardio and surgeon still crack up when they see it...plus when i was in the hospital the nurses and techs thought it was so funny. one of the nurses brought in someone else just to see the tattoo....so glad i could entertain people.

 

[Karlynn]

My cardiac surgeon (when I jokingly told him I was going to get a rose tattoo) said he did valve surgery on a guy with a short-sleeved "shirt" tattoo. The focal point was this tropical setting of brightly colored parrots in a tree. I guess it covered his entire chest. After the replacement, he handed the sutures to his resident and told him "sew him up, and I want to see it matched perfectly."

My Dad was a WWII Navy vet. He had the "required" Navy emblem tattooed on his upper arm (shore leave in Honolulu, group of fairly liquored-up buddies - you know the typical story). When I was little I thought all Dads had tattoos and was really surprised when I saw my best friend's shirtless Dad mowing the grass - no tattoo??? I asked him where it was.

 

[carista]

aussigal - Yes I got tissue, not on coumadin. Otherwise I know I couldn't even think about it.

I like the m&m too, like I said, I think it's perfect.

My mom is trying to talk me out of it, I just told her if I did it, it wouldn't be for a year and it would be the last one...but you know Mom's. She works at a healthcare company so she has access to medical dictionary's, etc. So I just met her for dinner tonight and of course she gave me a whole arm's full of informaton on endocarditis. I'm just droppin it for now. We'll see what happens in a year. (need a mischievous grin smiley face to insert here).

Dang it, I'm all flustered now cause at dinner I ran into my first love, the first guy I ever lived with and the first one to really break my heart . I haven't seen him in 7 or 8 years, since we broke up. It was wierd, especially since he looked EXACTLY the same...Just had to mention it since it was on my mind...

Anyway, you all can likely expect a picture in...oooh about a year.

 

[MikeB]

I have been debating the same issue. I have wanted to get a tattoo for a very long time, and after my surgery I wanted one even more. It will have meaning for me, and it will represent what I have gone thru. I have talked to my cardiologist numerous times and he does not recommend that I get it done. Since I have to take anti-biotics before a dentist visit, I asked about taking anti-biotics for the tattoo and he said that is not a gaurantee that it will help since germs on your skin are different than germs in your mouth. I though many of times about taking the risk, but I dont know that it is worth it.

 

[mmarshall]

not trying to change the topic about you getting a tattoo...that is a personal choice and everyone is different...but i think if you were to ask any doctor how they feel about tattoos they are going to sway against it...before or after surgery. but i always wondered about the antibiotics and dentists. being born with a bicuspid valve....i always had to take them before and after a visit. but i know when i change toothbrushes and sometimes when i floss...my gums bleed a little. which is why dentists want the antibiotics to be taken..due to the bacteria in the bloodstream. in my opinion it appears to be a precautionary measure. i think taking antibiotics before/after a tattoo would have the same affect...if not more beneficial...since the bloodstream from your gums can affect your heart more than the tattoo needles on your skin....unless you are getting a huge back piece or sleeving out your whole arm or something. unless you are on coumadin...which since i am not on it...i'm not sure how much that will affect things...i would ask someone that has had a tattoo done while they were on coumadin to see how it went.

 

[Ross]

It will have meaning for me, and it will represent what I have gone thru.

Dude you'll have the worlds best tattoo, that nice scar on your chest and it represents very well what you went through even more so then any tattoo you can get. Really, it's a medal for the wounds suffered in the battle of your life.

 

[Karlynn]

Tattooing can be a bloody procedure. If I wanted to get a tattoo, it wouldn't be the antibiotic issue that would stop me, but the Coumadin issue. I doubt that a tattoo artist that knows what Coumadin is would agree to tattoo someone on an anticoagulant. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I've seen tattoos done (on TV and in person) and there can be bleeding.

 

[MikeB]

Dude you'll have the worlds best tattoo, that nice scar on your chest and it represents very well what you went through even more so then any tattoo you can get. Really, it's a medal for the wounds suffered in the battle of your life.

That is an awesome statement, I never thought of it that way!!!