Piercing infection gets teen’s breast removed

Nov 2

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Technorati Tags: breast surgery, piercing infection, gas gangrene

This is one incident which would somehow inspire or should I say scare cute little girls from getting their breasts pierced for their debut. Unless they want to experience what Stephanie Edington of Crawfordsville went through, then they can pierce their teenie weenies all they want. A plastic surgeon would be much willing to clean up the mess should their piercings go wrong and bring forth a rare kind of infection.

MSNBC has this report:

Stephanie Edington of Crawfordsville remained hospitalized Friday at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, where surgeons also removed lymph nodes and infected skin up to her collar bone.

Dr. Robert Goulet Jr., a professor at the Indiana University Cancer Center, said the piercing created an entry point for the bacteria, but the procedure likely did not cause the infection itself. Edington is diabetic, which left her susceptible to infection, he said.

Necrotizing fasciitis or gas gangrene, a rare condition that results from rapid bacteria growth and leads to tissue destruction, is what Stephanie was diagnosed with. As for the treatment, she is on aggressive antibiotic regimen and has already gone through three surgeries. However, that’s not the end of it. She still has to undergo several more, including breast reconstruction.

Piercings are cool but losing your breast isn’t. So which would you choose? Of course this is a rare condition and perhaps a one in a million case, but it still is better to be a really careful. No one knows when bad things happen. Steph didn’t know it did happen during her birthday. And now that she knew, it is already too late.

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i do agree. piercing may be cool but then, losing a breast is definitely not so good. what ever happened to the surgeon who performed the operation?

what about boobs for teens?

Noelle on Feb 15

This stuff about piercings and tattoos and such is all well and good, Matt and Anonymous (and why not give your name? what's up with that?) ... but I hear more and more teens are actually getting boob jobs. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given the times we live in. But jeez. What about the fact that your body continues to change beyond the teen years? What about pregnancies and breast feeding in the future?

What about the well-known fact that most teens are out of their minds until they eventually grow out of it? Why would anyone promote plastic surgery to such a population?

I'm acquainted with a well-respected plastic surgeon who performs Walnut Creek breast augmentation. I'm going to ask him whether he sees teens in his practice and how he evaluates their readiness for surgery.

Stay tuned on this one.

Who's to say...

Anonymous on Nov 19

... what's cool. Personally, I have a tattoo, and I think it's pretty cool. And like Matt, I work with a plastic surgeon (several in fact), who perform everything from lipo to breast augmentation in Miami. As an industry, we preach to prospective patients that the reason for considering ps should be theirs alone. Personally, if someone wants to get a tattoo, a piercing or a plastic surgery procedure, I'm absolutely fine with it, as long as they're doing it for the right reasons (their own), have really considered the pros and cons, and have the procedure performed in a safe, sterile environment by a professional. I'm originally from IN, and I just imagine where this piercing was probably conducted and I cringe.

Piercings are Cool?

Matt on Aug 2

I think I didn't get the memo re: piercings being cool. I think a lot of this body piercing stuff is just a fad. At least I hope so. I feel bad for this girl, but in my job working with a plastic surgeon who specializes in breast enhancement on Long Island, I'd hate to see the really attractive breasts Dr. Romanelli is able to create being all junked up with piercings, tattoos, etc. I hope Stephanie is recovering well and I hope she will spread the message to all young women that having anything done to your body is a responsibility, and should be taken very seriously.

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