Tattoos are allies of medicine

• Tattoos are very popular, with one in three Americans having one.
• They are more popular with women than men.
• Tattoos have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years.
• Today they are used to cover surgical scars and to rebuild the breast

Tattoos have become very popular in recent years: roughly, one in three The Americans have one. Another curious fact is that it is more popular with women than men. July 17 was created as international day of these motifs on the skin.

The link between tattoos and medicine has been very close for thousands of years. Otzi,’Ice manThe one who lived 5,000 years ago and was found in the Austrian Alps in 1991 had 61 tattoos. Some, in areas such as the knee or ankle, are believed to have therapeutic purposes, as he was suffering from arthritis. However, experts do not exclude that they may have symbolic purposes.

breast tattoo

Today, some breast cancer patients use tattoos or to decorate areas of the body that have undergone surgery. Fatima Castaño, psycho-oncologist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid (Spain) explains that the areola tattoo – the circle that surrounds the nipple – is linked to the aesthetic outcome of breast reconstruction: when the breast is removed, due to a malignant lesion or for prevention, it is reconstructed by prosthesis After a few months, if the patient wishes, the areola can be reconstructed, so that the nipple is very similar in shape and color to the other breast.

• First, the nipple is reconstructed with skin from the reconstructed breast, with part of the other nipple, with skin from the elbow or from another part of the body.
• After that, the aura can be reconstructed or tattooed. This second option is the one that is superimposed and is performed with local anesthesia and without the need for hospitalization

“This type of tattoo aesthetically ends the reconstruction process and reduces the aesthetic effect of having a breast without a nipple. The aesthetic result is amazing and new tattoo techniques achieve color and visual perfection of texture that make patients very happy with the result: they see a fuller chest,” Castano confirms.

Tattoo after surgery

Another group of patients are those who use tattoos to cover up scars that are usually caused by surgery. For the psychiatrist, in addition to covering them up, “they provide symbolism: patients choose to tattoo images that are very symbolic to them, related to a personal process or even what the disease process means for them. They look a lot for tattoo images, especially in the acceptance process and begin to think about what to They have to do after the illness.”

His experience includes personalities such as:

• The phoenix is ​​the bird that rises from its ashes and shows the desire for supremacy
• Flowers and other motifs that evoke sweetness, strength, or beauty so that patients can rebuild their beauty

Written by Javier Granda Revilla
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