Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009 | 1:47 p.m.
CARSON CITY – A procedure used to implant decorative jewelry beneath the skin is getting a close look by the state Board of Medical Examiners.
Board officials are examining whether a doctor should be present when the skin is pierced and a piece of metal is inserted just below the skin to anchor the jewelry. The Southern Nevada Health District wants an opinion from the state on whether it’s a medical procedure.
Sean Dowdell is the owner of Club Tattoo, which opened in March in Planet Hollywood, and he says he has been told to stop the practice. “They (the health district) are grossly misinformed about the dermal anchors.”
Were it to be required, Nevada would be only the state to require a doctor to be present, he said. He owns five tattoo and body piercing businesses. And in the three years since he invented this procedure, there has not been one case of an infection, Dowdell says.
Dr. Lawrence Sands, chief health officer of the Southern Nevada Health District, says changes are being considered to the local tattoo and piercing regulations. But the district board of health has decided to delay action until it gets an opinion from the state.
Sands, in his June 11 letter to the state board, said “Techniques of extreme body modification are considered medical or surgical procedures and are prohibited acts in Health Permitted tattoo, body piercing or permanent makeup establishments.”
Dowdell says his studios each average 10 of these procedures daily.
Sands said the procedure consists of a 12-gauge needle being inserted into the skin and then the anchor is inserted in the body. The seven millimeter anchor is shaped like an upside down “T” with the bottom sticking out of the skin. The jewelry is then attached to the anchor.
Dowdell says he uses titanium for his anchor. It is placed no more than two millimeters below the skin.
Dowdell says his employees have at least four years experience and most have more than seven years.
Asked about possible infections, Dowdell said, “There are always going to be clients that will have problems from time to time, including infections.
“But 99 percent of the time, it is aftercare related,” he said. “The clients not taking proper care of the piercing even though they were given proper instructions. But even this is very rare.”
The board is holding a teleconference meeting Friday in Las Vegas and Reno.
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