Forum Discussion: Dermal Anchors and Surgery

"One drawback - or appeal, depending on how you look at it - to dermal anchors [is that] they're basically permanent.((See amendment to this statement below)) But, because the part that goes under your skin is made of titanium, which is the same material used to make replacement joints and plates used for repairing bone breaks, you shouldn't have to remove it for surgery any more than you would have to remove a plate in your head or replacement knee joints.

They may ask you to remove the gem that screw into the titanium anchor on the surface of the skin, but if the anchor is healed it's not going to go anywhere and there's no risk of the hole "closing up" while the gem is removed. So, that's a major advantage to anchors over standard piercings."

Update: I need to amend my statement about the permanence of these piercings and apologize for any confusion.

They are more stable and thus, more "permanent" than standard piercings, but they should not require surgical removal. Most piercers have found that they can manually massage the skin around the anchor to loosen the tissue that is healed around the anchor and it can be removed through the original piercing hole with minimal pain.

But you still shouldn't have to remove it for surgery and that tissue that grows around the anchor is usually sufficient enough to hold it in place if you have to temporarily remove the gem top.

If I learn any more, I will share it with you all.