Another implant!

I had been talking with a fellow about magnets for quite some time, when I found out he was planning a visit to Chicago to get a silicone implant from a renowned body mod purveyor. I joined in the fun and got a second implant.


PlacementI decided to have the magnet placed into my left hand ring finger tip, on the side facing away from the thumb. After playing guitar for a while, I noticed that this area never came in to contact with the strings or fretboard, and wasn't likely to interfere with playing. The placement is a mirror image of where my original rejected implant was located.

The Procedure
The method involved making a small incision with a scalpel, then inserting a tool to dig a pocket between the layers of skin. Once the pocket was made, he pushed the magnet in to place, then put two sutures through the incision. The pocketing procedure definitely felt more invasive than the approach that was taken with my other implant, but when all was said and done, the magnet was *exactly* where I had marked on my finger, the exterior wound was a tiny slit, and there was a very little swelling and soreness. I'm confident that this is the ideal way to implant a magnet for sensory purposes.

Healing

After the procedure, my finger was throbby, tingly, and a bit swollen. This quickly subsided. The second day, my finger was sore to the touch. I noticed that my fingertip felt cold and numb, even areas that had not been touched during the procedure. This subsided that evening. On day three, the area around the stitches became sore and red. Since the magnet was deep in the pocket and not being held in by the stitches, I thought it best to remove them. Previous experience taught me that after a few days, the stitches can become counterproductive. In hindsight, I should have probably left them in for a few extra days, but it continued to heal nicely after they came out.

After 10 days, most of the feeling has returned to my fingertip. The area that was pocketed near my fingernail still feels a bit weird, but it's quickly returning to normal. I have near complete functionality of the finger already (unlike before, when I was terrified to reach into my pocket and get my keys due to the tenderness.) I can type with no problems, and have almost zero pain. It still hurts if I squeeze it or bang it on something, but not too bad.

Feeling
On the second day, I used my old implant to locate a weak field, then tried the same region with the new implant. I couldn't feel anything. The third day I felt faint weirdness when trying the same. On the fourth day, I could vividly feel the sensation, with more intensity than my original implant! I'll save the analysis of intensity for a later time, as I won't know for sure until it's completely healed.

I do already notice some distinct differences between the two. Finding a field with my right hand, I discovered that to locate it with my new implant in my left, that it's in a different physical location. I believe that this has much do to with the orientation of the magnet. With my right, the magnet is sideways through skin layers. With my left, the magnet is flat with relation to the surface of the skin. With my palms flat on a table, the magnets are rotated nearly 90 degrees from each other.

I think that this may lead to a new sensory setup, with two or three magnets in different orientations. Once I'm better able to perceive what the new implant is telling me, I'll be able to interpret the differences in sensations between the two from an identical source. Exciting stuff.

WaitingNow, I wait. It will take some time for me to fully heal and adjust to the new magnet. It's definitely healing better than the original, and the pocket seems to have placed the magnet in a great orientation for sensory perception. Stay tuned for experiences with the new implant!