Getting a tattoo has always been a very painful process, and many of us that have one have wished that they could be done with an anesthetic. There are several topical creams that can help make the pain a lot more bearable, but big pieces can make the cream not last long at all as they require a lot of time and wiping. That is why many have been asking for tattoos to be available under general anesthesia, and now that their wish has come true, tragedy has stricken.
45-year-old Brazilian influencer Ricardo Godoi went under general anesthesia in order to get a large back tattoo, and despite all the precautions taken, he died after suffering a cardiac arrest shortly after sedation began. While this has been the first and only instance, it does not bode well for the expansion of the practice, as tattoo studios are not prepared to handle medical emergencies and tattoo artists are not doctors.
Why having tattoos under general anesthesia could be a very bad idea
With just one death it can be hard to discourage those who have been asking for this technique for years, especially those who want bigger tattoos that require a lot of hours on a table and a lot of pain tolerance. Tattoo artist Romeo Lacoste, who works for the California Dream tattoo parlor in Los Angeles, is one of the proponents of the idea, as his studio provides this serve to high profile clients.
“I’ve been working with a lot of celebrities and high net-worth individuals, and they’ve actually been asking me about this for quite some time,” Lacoste says. “We finally found a way to make it happen and connect the dots and work with some of the top anesthesiologists in Los Angeles. The facility that we work with is one of the best of the best, so everything that we do is always top-of-the-line and safety first.”
But it comes at a price, a general-anesthesia back tattoo can set you back $35,000 compared to the $10,000 to $15,000 without. That is not a surprise, if you use a certified anesthesiologist and take the necessary precautions to ensure that everything is up to snuff, this process is quite involved and requires years of expertise.
That is why Dr. Tiffany Moon, a board-certified anesthesiologist strongly discourages people from taking this route. This is a treatment that can leave you “unconscious and unaware of anything that happens” which is a very vulnerable position to be in.
Plus, according to her expertise, you need to be very vigilant about who is putting you to sleep and what credentials they have that will guarantee your safety, in addition to the protocols that will need to be followed should anything goes wrong.
As she explains “The lesson here is: If you can’t stand to have the tattoo while you’re awake, don’t have it […] The concern here is what kind of facility are you going to to undergo this procedure? If it has the same credentials and people working and equipment and medication that a surgical office would have, where you would go for a surgical procedure, then it can be safe. My concern is that it is being done in substandard conditions where you don’t necessarily have the medications, equipment or personnel if something goes wrong.”
The Mayo clinic concurs, going even further and warning that “Some medicines must be stopped for a day or several days before surgery,” and that “Sedation and anesthesia relax the muscles in your digestive tract. This reduces your body’s usual protective reflexes that help prevent food and acid from passing from your stomach into your lungs.” So a lot of precautions that need to be taken when having surgery would also apply to these kinds of procedure.