Question:
post op tattoo question

Greetings.. I was wondering if anyone has any input on post op tattoos on the upper body. My surgery was on Oct. 19 and I am down 76lbs. I am looking to get a very large memorial tattoo done next month for the one year anniversary of my fathers passing. The design I have created will start on my upper right chest and wrap around the top of my right shoulder/deltoid region. Heres my question, should I wait until I lose more weight or would it be safe for me to do it now? I dont see that area changing much more especially considering I am a Massage Therapist going on 12 years of practice and no matter how much weight I lose I will always have fairly large arms. This tattoo is very special to me and I greatly anticipate getting it, but I also dont want to rush it if there is a chance I will be unhappy in the end if it changes due to more weight loss. I would appreciate any input you may have. Thank you in advance...    — harmonysplace (posted on December 28, 2009)

December 28, 2009
Hi Jodi - I would wait. The weight loss we are experiencing now is like nothing we have before. I am shocked at how much my legs and arms have changed since my surgery, regardless that I did have a period of weight loss some years ago - there is a remarkable difference now. A memorial tattoo is a very special, somewhat sared thing. Wait until your body is how you want it to be.
   — TerriTeresa

December 28, 2009
Talk to your tattoo artist. That person will know best how the skin will react especially if you have a large amount of weight to still lose. I have 3 and the one that is the best if the one I spent a lot of time talking to the artist about, not saying the other are bad it just the artist understood better what I wanted.
   — bldeck

December 28, 2009
Jodi - I have to agree with Theresa - wait. I have now lost 100 lbs and had planned on getting a markerstone tattoo for my 100 lb loss, but it is just staggering how much my body has changed (everywhere, including where I'd never lost it before) and continues to change. Do somehting special to commemorate the date this year and possibly do it the next year - at that point you will most likely have leveled out and will know if you will need any kind of plastics or anything to accommodate your new body. Plus, your skin does shrink back a small amount once you've lost the weight, so it is well worth it to hold on.
   — stellarsan

December 28, 2009
If after losing all the weight you're able to lose you're left with "batwings" (flaps of emptied skin that hang from the underside of the arms), as so many of us are, you may want to consider brachioplasty (plastic surgery to remove the batwings). Getting your tattoo now would only complicate matters. Better to wait and see what your finished product turns out to be. Good luck.
   — Virginia N.

December 28, 2009
I would definitely wait until at least your 1 yr anniversary of your surgery. At that point you should have stabilized your weight and muscle mass. You don't want a new tattoo looking distorted within a few months. Trust me your body will continue to change for the first year and perhaps beyond depending upon how much weight you have to drop.
   — rkurquhart

December 28, 2009
I have to agree with everyone. Although the anniversary is important so are the result you want to honor his memory. With the prospect of losing more weight the tattoo may stretch out of shape and give you results you would not like.....wait.
   — karensaporito

December 29, 2009
I am waiting to get mine after my 1 yr. too, my Pops passed this last June, my WL anv. is Sept. I know how you feel about memorializing your Dad on that particular day. But I too would wait.
   — Lisa1212

December 29, 2009
I wouldn't do anything until you are about 6 months PAST reaching goal. Trust me, your body will still change. It would be sad for you to get the tatoo and it end up not looking like you want it to because of loose skin. You won't lose the muscle in your arms, but you should lose any fat, and they will change. Mine sure did.
   — corky1057