Poll on 3D Tattoos...who did you use and would you do it again?

Ally2345

Hi Sisters-  Seriously considering 3D Tattoos for the nipples and have been trying to research different artists.  Vinnie seems to be the one that has the most information, which is great, but it may be difficult to get to him.  Would love to hear about experiences from others who have 3D tats.  Thanks for sharing!!

Ally

farmerlucy

I have 3D Vinnie's. I flew from OKC to BWI last fall. The total cost was less than what my deductible would have been. They look real and I feel like their mine. I could find no good options in my area and I didn't want to take a chance with a novice. Would absolutely do it again.

exbrnxgrl

There is an artist in San Francisco at Dragonfly Ink, named Sasha Merritt, who does very nice work. I have been in touch with her and hope to have her do my missing nipple this fall. She does it free for bc patients at UCSF Hospital, but I'm not a patient there

Galsal

I have every intention of flying from TIA to BWI for a Vinnie job.  Thankfully, one of my Sisters lives within 30 minutes of his shop there!  So I'll go for a long weekend and get it done. I've no plans on having nipples created from flesh, so for me the 3-D route is the way to go.

Juliecc

I also planto get 3D nipples but have a few months to shop around.  xbrnxgrl, I have seen the pictures for dragonfly ink and might consider going there since I live in California.  Vinny is so far.

exbrnxgrl

Julie,

I have spoken to Sasha at Dragonfly and is very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Last year, she did nipple tats for free during October. I'm hoping she does it again but if not, I still plan to go to her by year's end. I only need one done and although I've gotten used to being one nippled, it will be a nice visual to have both. If you do decide to come to SF, let me know if I can help you in anyway. I live in San Jose.

Caryn

Juliecc

Thanks, Caryn!  Yes I saw that she did it for free in October but unfortunately, my exchange is 8/8 and I think you are supposed to wait 6 months or so.  I'm wondering if Kaiser might cover anything going to a tattoo  artist.  It would be cheaper for them than if I went through nipple reconstruction!

exbrnxgrl

I have Kaiser too (Santa Clara) and it never even occurred to me to ask about it! It's been almost 3 years since my bmx with one step implants. It's taken me this long to even contemplate a voluntary encounter with needles

Caryn

Juliecc

Caryn, I plan to call member services to find out.  I had asked my PS about where I could go for 3d nipple tattoos and she had no idea.

lahela

Vinnie posted a link to a site that lists other tattooists

http://www.pinkinkproject.com/Links.html

I'm going to be having mine done at Adrenalin in England (nobody does it here in Switzerland) because the guy that does it there trained with Vinnie.

kfinnigan

I have kaiser as well and asked my PS about nipple tattoos.  He said that Kaiser does not cover 3d tattooing outside of Kaiser.  Kaiser does cover either nipple/areola, he said they do the nipple from pig cadaver and areola from skin graft from your inner thigh, or the can do tattoo (not 3D) but they use plant based dyes that will fade.  I'm from Sunnyvale Caryn!  But now live outside of Roseville, but hubby still works in Sunnyvale and my younger daughter lives in San Jose.  Interesting on the San Francisco tattoo artist, thanks for the info!

mrenee68

I have a 3D tattoo and had Renee in Florida do mine. Since I am a uni she had to match my natural nipple/areola and she did an awesome job. Renee has also trained with Vinnie and I felt so comfortable with her, she has a great little place.

jeaniebeanie1200

I live in Fl and have a UniMx , just went under R breast lift yesterday , I am also thinking about 3D tattoo , can u tell me where she is located please???

NatsFan

Went with Vinnie. Would do it again in a heartbeat. 

mrenee68

jeaniebeani - Renee is in Fort Lauderdale, she is awesome and did training with Vinnie. She made me so comfortable and did a great job. She was very professional and did such a great job at matching my natural nipple/areola. Check her out at www.reneemaschinot.com. 

ucfmom

I have an appointment on 2/10/15 with Vinnie in NOLA.  I don't want any more surgery if I can help it, so the 3D tattoo is a perfect solution for me.  I had nipple sparing BMX but then lost the nipple on the cancer side a month later when the path report showed it was positive.  Brittany at the Breast Center had me send her pictures so she can get with Vinnie on how to best match.  Before I sent the pictures she said he sometimes wants to tattoo over the real nipple in order to be sure they'll match.  Apparently they will put numbing cream on the nipple before tattooing.

ojoyjoy

Juliecc- I live in Northern California and the NP that does the fills for my PS said there is a guy in Grassvalley who does the 3D Tattoos who was trained by Vinnie. I'm going up tomorrow for a fill and will ask for his name & will let you know. 

I plan on doing the 3D Tats myself. I figured after going through all of this, I want the best doing them. I'm willing to wait for an appointment with Vinnie & make the trip to see him. 

SpecialK

ojoyjoy - Vinnie works at both his shop outside of Baltimore and in New Orleans - the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery (www.breastcenter.com) has his schedule, so there are two options to see him.

exbrnxgrl

ojoyjoy,

Sasha Merritt of Dragonfly Ink in San Francisco does beautiful 3-D nipple tattoos. She does the tattoos for patients at UCSF and at her shop. Last year she did them for free in October!

Caryn

ojoyjoy

specialk- thanks for the info. I was aware that he worked in NOLA one week a month but wasn't sure if you had to be a patient there to see him. Thanks for clearing that up for me I've never been to NOLA and it's on my bucket list, so I thought I'd make a girls trip of it and kill two birds with one stone. I don't have a problem with going to Baltimore either. I have my heart set on having Vinnie and don't mind waiting to get in with him at either location. 

Caryn- thanks for the info. As you can see from my reply to SpecialK, I'm on a mission for Vinnie

ucfmom

Vinnie is actually only in NOLA three days per month, Tuesday - Thursday is what Brittany told me.  It sounds like I could have gotten in to see him in MD in December, but I got into NOLA two months later, so I'm thrilled.  I too had my heart set on Vinnie in NOLA.

ojoyjoy

ucfmom- good to know. Yeah, you get to see Vinnie!! 

How long do you have to wait post exchange to do the tats?  

ucfmom

I saw somewhere on Vinnie's website that you need to wait 5 months after your last surgery to get the tats.  By the time I see him it will be nearly 10 months for me, but I can be patient when I need to.  

Janetanned

I highly recommend Mandy Sauler who works in tri-state area - Philly, NYC and New Jersey.  I had an appointment with her this morning at Penn and am beyond satisfied!  She put back what cancer took away!  I can't put into words how happy I am with her work.  She worked with me to decide what color, size, shape and position my areolas should be.  In addition, her bed side manner and personality allowed me to relax and enjoy the experience.  I honestly would not go anywhere else.

http://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/mandy-sauler

 

 

Ally2345

Janetanned-  thanks for the info and sharing!  So glad you are happy with the results and Mandy sounds really caring.  Awesome!

Ally

Sacnaillady

ojiyjoy! Did you get any info. about the guy in Grass valley? I live in Sacramento. I haven't had surgery yet. I'm having a sGAP flap in Oct. so I'm a long way off from nipples but the info would be nice to know. Thanks!

jenjenl

I am scheduled for December 19th at Vinnie's shop in MD but not with Vinnie, it's with Trent
who is a artist at his shop that was trained by Vinnie. Dealing with
insurance to cover has been problematic. They say it's covered 100% in
network but don't have a list of whose in network. They are working on
authorization called in for out...pre-approval. I'm driving from CLT, NC
so it's a ways right before xmas.

farmerlucy

Travis Koenig at Bound By Design in Denver does the 3D tatts and also scar covering personal designs. Contact is tkoenigtattoos@gmail.com

ojoyjoy

Sacnaillady- I went in for another fill today and asked the NP. She said she will find it and either call or email the info. As soon as I know I will post the info for you. Caryn (scroll up about 7 posts) recommended Sasha Merritt of Dragonfly Ink and she's in San Francisco. That's not too bad of a drive from Sac. Check her out too. 

exbrnxgrl

For those interested in Sasha Merritt at Dragonfly Ink in San Francisco, check out her work and the studio.

http://dragonflyink.com/portfolio/areola-and-3d-ni...

Caryn

Sacnaillady

Thanks ojoyjoy. I'm not sure if they are going to do a nipple sparring mastectomy or not. I travel to Santa Clara next week to see my General surgeon and my PS to come up with the game plan for my mastectomy with immediate sGAP flap. I have a very unusual situation. I had BC 14 years ago with a lumpectomy, chemo and rad. It was very successful until last year. I had implants and my rad side got a bad infection. They removed the implant and it left me with a caved in boob that has adhered to the chest wall. It's a mess. Because of the infection and rad skin they do not want to put the implant back. So for my comfort I opted just to do the mastectomy and sGAP flap. Now I'll only have one boob to worry about. That being said, if they dump the nipple I def. want the 3d nipple. So thanks for the info.