tipiwoo
December 19, 2002, 9:41pm
1
wow! haven’t posted here in absolutely ages! anyways, here’s the thing… I’ve been saving up to get a small tattoo in the upper middle of my back. I finally have enough and was going to get it for Christmas. However, I just heard from a friend that if you have a tattoo on any part of your spine, doctors will not give you an epidural during childbirth. Being that I’ve never given birth and don’t want to rule out an epidural forever, I want to know… Is this true? Will they really not give epidurals to those with tattoos on their spine?
Looks like it’s an Urban Legend. According to SOAP, it’s okay.
http://www.soap.org/
The Society for Obstetric Anesthesia And Perinatology was founded in 1968 to provide a forum for discussion of problems unique to the peripartum period. SOAP is comprised of anesthesiologists, obstetricians, pediatricians, and basic scientists who share an interest in the care of the pregnant patient and the newborn.
http://www.soap.org/newsletters/summer2001/tattoos.html
Thank you for your inquiry concerning the safety of performing epidural and/or spinal anesthesia through tattooed skin. I understand your concerns completely, and I believe that I may be able to set your mind at ease. The tattoo pigments do not stay “loose” within the dermis or connective tissue, but are rapidly assimilated by macrophages during the healing process. Many of these pigment-laden macrophages stay in the dermis, and the dermis only, for the life of the tattooee. The amount of pigment that is used in the tattoo process is quite miniscule, also. The pigments are made of inert metal salts and different structures of a phenolphthalein base, and allergic problems are nearly nonexistent. You should have no concern whatsoever in placing a needle through a tattoo and into the spinal or epidural space, as the pigment particles are “fixed” and stationary within the dermis, and cannot be mobilized by the needle or migrate along the needle track. There is really no danger at all in inserting a needle through tattooed skin. As far as the African-American women go, the keloid-like process you have observed is a reaction to the tattoo procedure, and not the pigment. Darker skinned people are more prone to excessive scarring, and also because they are dark skinned, the tattoo artist often has to work harder on the skin to insert the pigments, thus inadvertently causing more scarring from the trauma that damages the skin. This is an unfortunate side effect of the tattoo process in dark-skinned people. However, there is still no danger in inserting a needle through such a raised tattoo—it is just more difficult to accomplish, because of the scar formation.
Moirai
December 19, 2002, 11:25pm
3
Yep, UL. My best friend’s anesthesiologist thought her tattoo was lovely!
Motog
December 19, 2002, 11:37pm
4
My wife, who has a small tattoo on her lower spine, had an epidural when giving birth last year. So I’d say it was UL