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When Daniel Bocchino was 16, he started stretching his ear lobes, expanding them until he had an inch-wide hole in each lobe. But by the time he was 19, he was so over the piercing trend known as ear gauging.
He removed the thick plugs from his lobes and slathered the holes with all kinds of weird ointments and creams, hoping the stretched-out skin would just shrink back up. But that's not how it works -- once that hole is stretched any wider than 6 millimeters, there's no going back.
Bocchino, who's now 20 and lives in Hackettstown, N.J., ended up just walking around with a drooping, flappy hole in each ear for six months, until finally seeking advice from a plastic surgeon, Dr. Brian S. Glatt.
Glatt, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Morristown, N.J., says he's seeing more people -- mostly young people, and mostly men -- who started gauging their ears as teenagers and are now joining the military, seeking a professional job or, like Bocchino, are simply over the fad, and are trying to figure out how to fill that hole back up.
“There is no established way to do it, and each case is different,” says Glatt, who sees about one young guy a month who regrets the hole in his ear. “It’s like a puzzle; you have to figure out how to put these kids back together properly.”
Glatt says he essentially has to reconstruct the whole earlobe. He cuts around the hole -- "you're almost taking out the core," he explains. Then he slices the earlobe into two pieces, trims away excess skin and sews the pieces back together. He says the surgery leaves a scar down the earlobe right to the edge of the lobe.
He adds: "A lot of these kids are smokers, and smokers tend not to heal as well, just to add insult to injury."
To distract from the scar, some of his patients have repierced their ear, which he says is safe to do.
But regauging their lobes is out of the question: "They'd run the risk of literally tearing their earlobe apart. It wouldn't withstand the stretching, and they'd have two little pieces." Eww.
The surgery takes about half an hour per ear, and costs anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000, which Bocchino paid for himself with the money he makes as a tattoo artist. He says he's happy about the results -- the worst part of it all was probably telling his parents he regretted gauging his ears in the first place.
"They were like, we told you so," he says.
Do you have any piercings or tattoos you regret? Tell us about them in the comments.
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This is a common procedure, that has been done for years for women with ear piercings that have stretched from heavy earrings (remember the 80's?).
And this guy is ripping people off if he's charging more than $600 for both ears.
Most plastic surgeons do this, they do it well, they use a technique call Z plasty which leaves a mild scar that tends to fade over 12 months. I know, I had it done 5 years ago, and you'd never know I had it done.
Perhaps back in the 80s you could get both ears repaired for $600. A lot has changed since then. If you want to make sure you have a reputble surgeon who will ensure there is blood flow through the tissue and you don't come out looking as bad or worse than pre-surgery, I'd say $1,500 is not a bad price. In my area of the country, I wouldn't say $3,000 would be the norm but, in some parts of the U.S., yes, I could see that being a fairly standard pricing.
And, when you calculate the time and facilities involved ... the patient would probably be under a general anesthesia so that means he or she would probably be treated at an outpatient surgical center. The surgeon has cleared his calendar for probably twice as much time as the scheduled surgery because he has to get TO the surgical center, prep for the procedure while the anesthesia is being administered, and then he has to get back to his office after surgery.
If it is done in-office under local, you have the doctor or his assistant administer the local. Then you have to wait awhile until the anesthetic takes effect. While the doctor is performing this surgery he is not going to be room hopping to see other patients in order to make sure this patient has his undivided attention. Now, after all of that, the patient is likely going to be a bit nervous about having his ears poked and stuck while the doctor calculates a reasonably careful plan laid out beforehand as to how best to reconstruct this poor sap's ears so he can look like a normal human being.
Now ... do you really want to have this undertaken by a drive-thru, cut-rate McDoctor?
you probably pay the same for gas as you did 30 years ago, huh? Oh, no. You mean you don't?
People constantly complain to our customer support that our prices went up. Yes, why yes they did. The usually shut up when I ask them how much they paid for gas and milk 10 years ago. I also ask if they have tried telling the grocery store to sell them the same goods at the price they paid 10 years ago.
This is not a NEW SURGERY! and the doctor is ripping people off.
Heavy earrings would not give you a one or more inch hole in your earlobe. The damage done with these gauges is far more extensive than anything an earring could do.
Weights — Large, heavy jewelry or weighted objects can be used to stretch piercings.
not done with "gauges" gauge is a SIZE... not a thing.
I had a women come in to my shop, she was about 60 years old and she had used heavy earrings for moist of her adult live and i put 16mm in her, and thats more than a inch...so yes they do.
Zonia Iceland
I have my ears stretched to 19mm and that is only 3/4 of an inch and if I leave them out for any longer than an hour I almost can't get the plug back in. So the if you go any bigger than 6mm they won't close back up thing is bs. My friend was up to a inch and a half and went down to a 2g in only a few weeks you just have to know how to do it and you don't need any special creams
I wonder just how long before people start expecting this procedure to be covered by our new health care bill.
A Zplasty is used for some conditions, but will not work on all. The larger holes from stretching (more than any earing can do) is a more extensive repair. As to the comment from some on thinking the fee is a rip off...well...as soon as YOU pay 40 gand a year in med. mal insurance, come back and talk to me. Your a bit of a fool even thinking you know when a z-palsty will or will not work.
Nursestryker, this Doctor is not ripping anyone off! As a Dentist I know what it costs to have my undivided attention for a half hour or an hour. I did a post graduate residency and repaired a couple of ears from trauma. You have to be meticulous when suturing because there is cartilage involved. The fee is well worth a successful result.
To become a Plastic surgeon requires 4 years undergrad, 4 years med school, 1 year as an intern, 4 years as a general surgery resident and then 2 years for plastic surgery residency. These guys have 15 years in making minimal pay. They earn the fees they charge.
They don't earn it. They're con artists...which is another job that takes years to get good at while making minimal pay.
How long did it take you to become a full fledged a-hole? Did you make minimum wage while you were in training ?
Too bad. I would like to see these people have to live with their idiotic choices as is the case in tattooing. They should have to walk around later in life demonstrating how stupid they are.
@Scott
Is there anything you would like to share with us that reflects stupid choices you have made in your past? Perhaps you have made none.
At least on the wayback machine your arrogant comment can live as a standing tribute to your demonstrated stupidity.
...lasers are used to remove tattoos...
...piercings are 'to each their own'...
...I just wish I had the talent to charge $1500 - $3000 for 1/2 hour of work.
Don't be such a condescending, arrogant douchebag. Saying that tattooing is always a bad choice just shows how very ignorant you are. Body modification should always be done with thoughts for the future and with good reason, but condemning it altogether makes you appear as ignorant and stupid as those who tattoo "Good licker" on their upper lip and then expect to find a respectable job.
Thank you, Anthony. My thoughts, exactly!
And brava to you, too, gia. Some tats represent truly personal milestones in a person's life. They have some deep meaning to them. Some societies accept them as a part of everyday life for EVERYONE. And tats have been a reality since pre-historic, caveman times. What makes it wrong for mainstream America? Ahh! Our Puritannical founders.
Scott, you little sissy. Tatoos are a choice that many people, young and old, choose to get. I'm 69 years young and got my first tat four months ago. I got my second tat last month. I chose dragons, in color, on both upper arms which I love to show, especially when working out. I'm proud of my muscular arms and the tats do enhance the pump. I'm looking for my next tat; want to join me, I'll hold your hand.
Lets just say that i fully agree with Parrot Head, Gia, and Anthony. Stop being close minded.
@Scott, too bad there is not a surgery to remove being an A-hole!!!
I'm going to ignore the fact that 2/3 of the comments here are completely ignorant and were left by people who have no concept of body modification as a general practice.
My comment is to the author of the article: The term isn't gauging a piercing or gauged ears. You stretch a piercing, after which you have stretched lobes. The term gauge is a size measurement, as in the gauge of a wire. So you may have two gauge piercings - which is about the 6mm you speak of in the article - but you'll never have 6mm gauged piercings.
As an aside: It seems that maybe you'd want to educate yourself on the matter you're presenting before you publish a piece to "inform" the public about a trend - idiotic or otherwise (thanks, Scott).
This is exactly how this article made me feel.
Along with stereotyping people with STRETCHED lobes in about 3 different ways. The writer obviously did little to no research on their topic.
I agree, don't make those kind of stereotypes when you don't know everything.
Are you guys complaining about the term "hipster"? Do you take everything that literally? I have stretched lobes and am not bothered by the term hipster for sake of a catchy title.
I think the author wrote the best they could on this topic without actually stretching their lobes themselves.
I'm going to go ahead and guess if someone shouted the word hipster on a street you were walking, you would lift your head in attention.
thank you so much for pointing this out. it was starting to really bother me as well.
Also if you stretch properly 6mm will go back down fairly quick. Ive had 1 inch lobes shrink to practically nothing with jojoba or vitamin e oil i stretched back up later on though to the same size.
Michael Gurdin M.D. & Gene Carlin M.D. Both of whom were Board certified Plastic Surgeons were performing this procedure in Beverly Hills when I worked for them starting in the late 60's. Also Frank Ashley M.D. @ UCLA. Tell this guy he needs to do his home work. This is NOT A NEW PROCEDURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've always believed that body modification, be that tattooing, piercing, scarification, etc, should always be done after a long, careful consideration about why one wants to do it and how it will impact your life if you want to get a job outside that scene. Extensive very obvious body modification, especially on when it involves your face and head should never be because it's some kind of a fad and all your friends are doing it now. Dying your hair bright pink is one thing, changing your ears so drastically or tattooing your face is completely another - that is neither easily, nor cheaply reversible, so kids, think before you do something like that - think how it will look in a few years.
Ehhh.. It's just how it is. Younger people are scientifically proven not to be fully equipped to make decisions. Adults have the advantage of fully developed frontal lobes that help them consider consequences to choices better. Therefore, I believe parents play a big role in , if not forcing, then severely advising your kids on stuff like this.
I'm 14, I'm allowed to do it as my ears will go back. I have 10mil (00g) and they should go back. If they dont go completley they will go small enough so i could wear normal earrings as long as they werent tiny. I dont think that because I'm young i don't know what effects it could have on my future, if i had huge plugs and a tattoo on my face it would be harder to be employed at certain places, but i really dont think it matters that much if you only have small plugs.
I have small plugs in my ears (two gauge if I remember correctly) and I haven't had a problem getting or keeping a job. They're small, solid black plastic plugs and most people don't even know they're anything but earrings with a standard gauge. They look so normal on me now I don't even notice them, and I don't think my 68-year-old conservative boss does, either.
It really depends on the kind of a job you wish to get and keep. Some places, very well-paid places, have dress codes that exclude that kind of body-modification. Do you think they'd let you work in a bank with those?
Christina, I take a bit of offense to that. I'm 17 and fully agree with what Gia is saying (as for the rest of my generation... ehhhh). Any sort of permanent (or even not-so-permanent) mod should be thought out and done by a well-qualified artist in a clean shop. I have 2ga plugs (at least I usually wear solid plugs) and 8ga second holes. I started stretching my ears when I was 14. One day (after my career path is for sure one where mods are acceptable), I hope to stretch to 7/16" or maybe 1/2". Tattoos are on my list as well, but the only one I most definitely want I could cover with a shirt if it was needed. And as BTRich said, most people don't even notice they're plugs unless you're wearing clear plugs or tunnels (which disappoints me, but I can wait)...
Gia I work in a bank and I have three stretched holes in my left ear (00g, 2g, 4g) and 00g in my right, my eyebrow is pierced and on tongue is pierced, I have long black hair as well.
Society is changing and while I dont deal with customers (since I work in a corporate office) It really depends on where you work and who you interact with and what the companies dress code is.
The only thing that makes me feel dicriminated against is I cant wear my hair down, its a non big issue but I do feel discriminated against since I am a male and females can wear their hair down.
I get that its a corporate environment so I deal with it but society changes and what once wasnt acceptable will eventaully be a non issue. People are still hung up on looks when its what is inside a person and how they work and conduct themselves that should be the focal point.
Sorry teens, but Christina is partly right, the judgement part of the brain is the last to fully develop (between ages 24-30), it's the underside (behind your eyes) of the frontal lobe. Teens, you can disagree all you want, but the science backs this up, and no you're not the exception.
That being said, I don't see anything wrong with body modification, I have tats and used to have piercings, but Gia is right, not all professions treat it equal, right or wrong. Piercings are really the least of the worries, you take them out they're gone, maybe a scar (and maybe after some surgical procedure like this article talks about), but it's usually small and most people have scars.
Tats can be a different story, choose them carefully, I have seen some doozies, be careful from whom you get them, and if includes a word, make sure it's spelled right! I'd also consider getting it someplace that can be hidden by clothes, remember, right or wrong, a future employer may not be so into the tattoos. Pirate, though I agree with "it's what inside" that counts, becareful of "shoulds" you're placing rules on the universe that just don't exist.
This is not a new procedure. It is routinely perfromed by nearly all plastic surgeons office across the country. As for the fees, cosmetic surgery is market driven - the surgeon should charge what the market will support. If the charge is deemed excessive, thae patient has the option to negotiate or go elsewhere.
This isn't a new procedure. I know people who have had it done years ago. Also, I have stretched my ears to 00g and had them like that for a few years. They did go back over time after taking them out. It is different for everyone so some would have permanent stretching while others may not. Also, I am pretty offended by someone saying I have made idiotic chioces and am showing how stupid I am. I am heavily tattooed, have had stretched ears and I am working as a legal assistant in a law firm. I also have my Esthetics degree and have owned a business for 5 years as an Esthetician. No stupidity here actually. ;)
Well said, Tiffany. (For someone who's so 'stupid' and 'idiotic' you surely are one smart cookie!)
The proper term is called stretching, not gauging. Gauge is the size of your plugs, tunnels, etc.
It's your body.Why should anyone else care what you do with it?
:]
I saw a "gauge" repair on TV. They have to cut the entire inner ring away and then hope there is sufficient blood-flow to allow the repair to heal. It doesn't always heal.
According to MSNBC, Tattoo removal is now the number one plastic surgery in New York. Folks get those tattoo's and that little rose on the breast, twenty years later and maybe a child or two, now looks like a faded rose bush.
I saw a young guy the other day with his entire face tattooed. I hope he has a great trade he can do cause I don't think too many people would want to hire him; especially if the job requires interaction with the public.
I grew my hair long when I was young. Fortunately when I went to look for a job/carrier I could cut it to look presentable. I managed to get through my wild years and 4 years in the U.S. Navy and never got a tattoo. Thank God, cause with the weight I've gained over the years, that little round "USDA Choice" tattoo that I considered would now look like a blurred baseball.
Once it was unique. Now ever idiot on the street has several. I am now unique in the fact that I don't have one.
I read an interview of a guy with his face tattooed and he had a rather large lip plate. I suppose he doesn't have what general society would call a "real job", but he seems very happy with himself. In fact, he seems even happier with the modifications that he has than if he were unmodified and had a "real job". (He works from home (didn't specify the job) and washes dishes at a local restaurant.)
"I thought that was just beautiful. As a kid I then started painting my face, but to my disappointment it washed off. Then later I moved on to markers and pens and whatever I could get my hands on. My parents could not figure out why I was doing it. To me it felt… natural!" - James Keen (the guy in the interview)
I have 10mm plugs in both ears, Im a 14 year old girl. Oh well. They should heal up. I want to be a lawyer/solicitor when I'm older and don't really think they would suit, i will get rid of them. I doubt I would bother with surgery though.
Dear Melissa Dahl, I just want to start by saying that I work with the person you interviewed, Dan. I hope you're not getting paid for your internship at msnbc. I also hope you're not paying too much for your degree at Rutgers either. Your terminology is atrocious, and I know that you were fed information from him as the interview happened. Do a little research before you write about a topic you're unfamiliar with.
The little "extras" speckled throughout the article make him look like an uneducated kid who was doing something to be part of the crowd. Dan is an extremely hard working, dedicated, well spoken man. You failed to mention that in the interview, he mentioned that if his lobes weren't ripped at a concert, he would still have them and wanting no disrespect to his parents, they had approved of his decisions. Other fun points so strategically left out would be about his mention of the cultural significance it has, that there are proper ways to STRETCH the lobes (gauge implies size) and proper ways to care for them.
Your article makes the people who choose to change their body how they see fit as ignorant, "hipsters" (which is an entirely different group of people) who crave only shock value from the "squares" and want anything but a job. I myself worked in the medical field for 6 years before becoming an exclusively full time tattoo artist. I have plenty of friends who are heavily tattooed and pierced who hold jobs such as real estate agents, graphic designers, chefs, small business owners, engineers, even brilliant writers unlike yourself.
Ignorance is spread, don't be the fuel to the fire.
P.S. Adding "EWW" to describe your thoughts on what the ears would look like sans reconstruction was a really nice touch, very grown up of you. Reach for the stars.
I must agree with everything that Megan has written here to the author of this rather degrading and mildly infuriating article.
This article, while filled with inaccurate information and inflammatory remarks, is a very simplistic biased view point of an author who has obviously researched absolutely nothing of the subject matter past her own limited and obviously resentful attitude towards people who partake in body modification rituals and practices.
As previously (and most certainly to be so in the future) mentioned, the process of lobe reconstruction is, most certainly, not a new procedure. Not only have plastic surgeons and general surgical practitioners performed this procedure for more than 20 years, the procedure has been perfected by well respected and well trained body modification artists.
On a personal note, I've seen multiple (20+) cases of reconstructed lobes done by body modification artists that have more consistent and generally better looking results that what i've seen from their plastic surgeon counterparts.
The sadness i feel in reading that article is not of the rather insipid and narrow P.O.V. the author has provided, but more so at the knowledge that a multitude of people will possibly use this article a ammunition in their own insipid and callus personal vendettas against the modified community and that those people are the same type of people who will never bother themselves with reading these comments and finding the real truth.
To the author, you have hereby disgraced yourself and have ran afoul of simple human logic that would dictate to not take journalistic fact from only one or two misrepresented sources... For shame.
I'm 15 with 12mm, lobes, and when i take my plugs out they shrink back to about double zero, 10mm. Also, the person the article's about obviously was stretching, not guaging, for the wrong reasons. One, if you're stetching because it's "hip" or popular, you need to stop. People who are serious about it deserve the surgery, not people who don't appreciate the art form. Since that's what it is, an art.
Chill out muhammad, don't get all hostile. This "artform" is just another fad. It's been going on since I was a kid. Yes blah blah, I realize tribes have been doing this for centuries, but honestly..what tribe other then maybe the aryan nation could any of these kids every become a part of. Tons of my friends walked around with these nasty stretched out african earlobes. Each and everyone of them I've seen today grew out of it and removed them.....just as you will, probably within the next two years as you develop into a worthwhile member of society. The only 20 somethings and early 30 somethings you'll find with this mess are living in some artsy fartsy district trying to become another "photographer" amongst the other billion, or jerking around scratching up dow at some shisty tatoo parlor (another fad). It's not an "artform", it is hip,,it is popular, and that's perfectly ok for you to be a part of that. It's normal, you're 15.
Vlad, the racism and ignorance pouring from your comment are so overwhelming that they're comical. Shut up, educate yourself and stop being such an embarrassment.
I just tell it the way it is, grow up, get a real job, become somebody. The kids 15, when you're 15, this type of thing is expected and acceptable, but any grown person should have progressed from such nonsense long ago.
I got my lobes pierced around the age of 15. I'm now 27 and have them stretched to 00g. I work for the Department of Defense. How's that for a real job?
Vlad,
I am 26 years old, in less than 5 years i worked my way up in the Georgia Department of Transportation to the position of a specialized crew foreman (40 hours a week) and i weekend work at my tattoo shop for an additional 30-40 hours a week.
i have over 50 hours of tattoos placed on my body, i have branded designs placed on my body, intentionally cut and scarred designs on my body and practice body suspension and pulling rituals (hooks placed in the skin, and suspended from those or pulled from those).... suffice to say, I am the epitome of the type of person your type of ignorance tells to 'grow up, and get a real job'...
do i need to add that my yearly salary from both jobs equals to well over the national average yearly salary? possibly even your own... i think not... but, let that mull around in your empty skull for a while before you once again minimize and degrade something that you personally don't/don't want to understand..
Vlad,
Clearly you are as uneducated as the author of this article on the subject of the art form of body modification. (While stretching ones ears has become pretty mainstream and "hip", it is still part of body modification.)
Also you definitely got pwned by Cris.
Richard, impressive, I actually know a few people in the field, I take it you're computer savy. Cris, acquire general foreman than maybe we can start comparing your SALARY to my HOURLY. I'm sure some of our laborers will be taking home quite a bit more than you'd imagine. You're obviously a hard worker, balancing two jobs and whatnot, so with that being said, maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm being a bit single sided about this. Kat Von D, shhhhhhhh.
Dear MSNBC Melissa Dahl deserves a bonus, no make that 2 bonuses and some paid time off.
You don't wanna pay the plastic surgeon to fix your stupid looking dumbo ears? Here's a tip, jerkoff. Don't stretch your big ass dumbo ears in the first place.
Here's a tip for you too - don't tell other people what to do with their bodies.
doctor jim? Oh I get it, because you like to play doctor with children.
First off, if you are going to do a story about this... use the term correcting... gauge is a SIZE... you do not SIZE your ears you stretch them. Second, to the massive amount of dumb teenage kids who start stretching because it's "cool" you should probably rethink it because it's a life decision... sure you can pay to have them "repaired" but, lets face it... still not the same. If you are going to stretch your ears be serious about it....
ps: I myself have stretched lobes, piercings AND tattoos.
What a dumb "new" fad...
You know, aside from it being done for thousands of years across the world. It is wrong though, because it isn't a societal norm in America.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/photogalleries/africa_faces2/photo6.html
I'm guessing half the people complaining about this story have "sleeves" aswell. I myself have plenty of tattoos, but the sleeve thing goes hand in hand with the piercings, gauges, and every other click worthy fad.
I honestly don't think that's true and you're making a generalization. I've seen people with subdermal implants with no other mods... Just because someone has one mod doesn't mean they automatically have another...
Von D.....shhhhh
I think it's funny how you think that's an insult... Used it twice too. In fact, I only wish I could draw/tattoo/paint like she does because frankly I'm a terrible at drawing. I should never have a tattoo gun put in my hands... Haha.
At one point I'm sure she was half way decent. She's so washed up in drama and fame that it shadows what you could have at one time considered gifts. This mainstream tattoo, body mod, whatever you want to call it, has gotten completely out of hand. Hand in hand with Famous logo hats, Tapout t-shirts (everyones a "cage fighter" now), terrible haircuts, and guy liner. The problem I have is that the people sporting this apparrel, tattoos, piercing, or what have you, are the same people who claim to be unique individuals. By no means are they unique, and by no means do they stand a chance of being so. Not as long as they continue to follow any sort of crowd. Whether it be the outcasts, the unwanted art kids, the retro hippy kids chewing on vinyl, or the tattooed pierced up "individuals", they're still following a click. At that a click just as bad as those that consider them to be the lesser.
She may be mainstream, but she is still very good at what she does. Best in the tattooing field? I have no idea. There are likely tons of artists as good/better than she is. I'm not sure how you AVOID following a crowd. EVERYONE fits into some stereotype... However, I do kinda agree with you on the Famous and Tapout point...
I can agree it's difficult to avoid being part of a click, however, I have a brother who absolutely fits nowhere, and I mean nowhere. There's is no other single person like him, one of a kind, a true unique, simply born that way, and that's something I think people should look up to. He's happy, successful, enjoys himself, and a good person. No drama, no longing for popularity, no ties, just being himself. If you look at older people, several of them have disband from stereotypes and become themselves, over time they've become this person who can get along with anyone and has no terrible concerns about what's going right or wrong. Now, I see where the majority, in my eyes, still even while holding an aarp card have a lot of growing up to do. They only consider people with sharing beliefs and ideas, and support the "I say we just blow them up" idea.
All that being said, like I said to the 15 year old above, it's ok that he resides in some sort of click, I just don't see reason to deny it. Why does it become personnal when you tell somebody, "yes, you are a part of a click whether you realize it or not". Their response nearly everytime, "No I'm not, I'm just being myself", or something to that extent. Unless, of course it's a person belonging to a popular stereotype, such as athletes, jocks, "preps", or what have you. I've even noticed the metal guys fly their flag proudly, but god forbid you call an emo kid emo, or a tattooed guy (or girl) a member of a click.
up to 3,000 dollars??? that´s almost 400 thousand Icelandic Krónurs! what! my friend had this "surgery" here in Iceland and it was only 417,85 dollars for both! goddamn that´s just stupid!!!