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ELECTRONIC ARTICLE: Oliver J. Muensterer Temporary Removal of Navel Piercing Jewelry for Surgery and Imaging Studies Pediatrics 2004; 114: e384-e386 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Nothing new....

David A Skipper   (17 December 2004)

News for healthcare workers

Oliver J Muensterer, University of Munich, Dr. von Hauner Childrenīs Hospital   (20 December 2004)

Nothing new.... 17 December 2004
David A Skipper, Professional Body Modifier Tattoo Art Send letter to journal: Re: Nothing new.... fleshtech{at}bresnan.net David A Skipper	Body modification professionals (i.e. tattoo artist, body piercers, scarification artist) have been doing this for many many years. Temporary use of PTFE (Teflon) and some acrylics in the situations the article mentioned have been used for at least 15 years by industry professionals. Many body jewelry manufacturers make jewelry for just this use, and have for years. Not that I am not appreciative of the medical community's research into the subject, but all anyone had to do was just ask for alternatives to metal jewelry at their local tattoo shop. In short...this is nothing new.
News for healthcare workers 20 December 2004
Oliver J Muensterer, MD Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Munich, Dr. von Hauner Childrenīs Hospital Send letter to journal: Re: News for healthcare workers oliver.muensterer{at}med.uni-muenchen.de Oliver J Muensterer, et al.	Mr. Skipper emphasizes the fact that plastic subsitute piercing jewelry is available at tattoo shops. This was already mentioned in the article. However, the cost of these substitutes compared to a simple IV catheter can be quite high (I ran a search on the internet and they sell for between 10 and 20 dollars). Also, the adolescent patient may not have one available when they are admitted to the hospital. Therefore, I find the IV catheter method is still a practical and universally option in these situations. Oliver J. Muensterer, MD