FREE ARTICLE #2 – Tattoos, pregnancy and epidurals

The lower back understandably is a very popular location on the body where more and more women these days are having their tattoos done there. The problem with having a tattoo in that location, according to many anesthesiologists, is that when a woman is pregnant, and the procedure of doing an Epidural is about to be performed, a serious consideration for them is whether or not the Epidural needle, will push the ink of the tattoo into the central nervous system. There are instances where anesthesiologists have actually refused to do the procedure out of concern for the patients well being, as well as to prevent any potential malpractice issues.

To set the record straight on this issue, for an anesthesiologist to refuse to do the procedure outright because of this specific concern, is outrageous, and indicates that the anesthesiologist should stop practicing and should go back to medical school. Anesthesiologists have more than one location on the spine where they can insert the epidural needle. Even if the woman’s tattoo is so large that it is located in every possible upon the spine, still does not precipitate the decision for the anesthesiologist

The fact is that 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 minuscule, 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.