In early 1999 I traveled to Philadelphia to have Steve Haworth perform two sets of teflon sub dermal implants over each of my eyes in order to achieve a horned ridge effect.

History & Motivation

I first encountered Steve's work with implants in 96/97 through various sources - news coverage of the transdermal mohawk, internet sources (like BME), friends in the community, etc. Beyond simply being very interested in learning about the procedures themselves, I also immediately began to think about how I might use them in my own project. I contemplated things like an extended spine going over my scalp and pieces on my back. Ultimately, I decided that what would best suit my existing design and be right for me would be horned ridges over my eyes.
Deciding how to incorporate the implants and that I wanted them turned out to be much easier than getting them. Steve and I had a few mutual friends and contacts but it was somewhat difficult to get in contact and schedule an appointment with him. This was due in part to my being primarily on the east coast at this time and him being based in Phoenix, AZ. Luckily for me though, Steve travels quite a bit and makes himself available for procedures all over country - if anything, he is workaholic who pushes himself in an effort to make sure that no one who wants his work goes without the opportunity. I made arrangements to meet up with him in Philadelphia where he would be working at the Infinite shop. This meant the trip would not only result in my getting implants but would also be a chance to see my friends at Infinite and in the Philadelphia area.

Prelude to the Procedure

The day of the procedure I got up early and drove to Philadelphia from Albany - stopping along the way to pick up Lucia, a friend I met initially through the usenet newsgroup: rec.arts.bodyart, at Princeton. Once at the shop I got to finally meet Steve and Beki in person and we set about deciding on the size and placement of the implants. Based on the look I wanted, Steve suggested placing the implants in a single 'pocket' side by side rather than spacing them out - which is what I had expected. Also, because it would likely be much more difficult to go in and use 'generations' of implants to increase the size of the ridges, as is sometimes done with single horns, we also decided to go fairly large. Ultimately, it was decided that the ridges would consist of 5 pieces over each eye, with the outermost piece on each set being a 'generation' larger than the rest.
With these details worked out, Steve began to prepare the tools and implants themselves along with the procedure room while Beki went through paperwork with me. It was during the course of filling out the paperwork that Beki decided to call my implants "lizard bumps". I still find this to be a very cute description, but it fits since she is just as cute as she is able - and she is incredibly able.

The Procedure

Steve began by preparing and marking the skin. Once both sides were marked and prepared, he began by making an incision through which to insert the elevators, which look a lot like long thin spatulas, and then the implants themselves once the pocket in the sub dermal tissue had been created. The actual incision and insertion of the elevators was not as painful as one might expect, however the pressure was incredible. I would liken it to having a vice on your head squeezing at the temples while the skin is pulled. Creating the pocket requires a series of elevators and the tissue does not separate easily. In the case of my left side, the presence of scar tissue made it particularly difficult and resulted in some audible pops. Once the pocket was formed, the implants were inserted and the incision neatly closed with three sutures. This was then repeated on the other side. I wasn't very aware of the passage of time during the procedure but it was about 5 hours from the time I entered the room till it was over - with a short break between sides. Steve was incredible throughout and his bedside manner is still the benchmark for me in rating practitioners of all sorts. I have yet to meet his equal.

Aftermath & Aftercare

By the end of the procedure I was very tired and a bit shaky - not to mention swollen. The Infinite staff got me a glucose tablet and I took a little while to get my feet back under me. Once I felt up to it, I drove to some friends' home to spend the night - Timo & Kristen, who I also first met online and were very generous in offering me a place to stay. I was still feeling a bit off upon arrival and actually threw up the water and glucose tablet I had taken before leaving the shop. Lucia and Kristen helped me inside to the couch and Timo got me some painkillers. Steve had told me, as had others, that it would feel as though I had been hit with a baseball bat wherever I got the implants; the description was pretty accurate since the only sensation similar to this I had felt was when my forehead had gotten busted open with a hockey stick in a high school gym class (but that's another story). Despite the pain and swelling, I managed to get some intermittent sleep and Lucia watched over and comforted me through the night. The next morning I drove Lucia back to her dorm at Princeton and took a short nap before continuing back to Albany. I promptly collapsed and slept quite awhile once home. The aftercare mainly consisted of cleaning and caring for the incisions and using ice packs for the swelling and bruising - which was considerable. Below are some notes from the BME write up I sent in about a month after the procedure:

Day 3 - bruising & swelling

As Steve had warned me might happen, my eyes became swollen and bruised as if I had been punched squarely in both of them. The implants were still sore to the touch, but otherwise felt fairly good. I spent the majority of the day in bed or on the couch with cold packs on my eyes and/or forehead.

Day 4 - feel better, look worse

By the fourth day I began to feel a great deal better and even worked a shift at the bar I live above. However, I looked much worse. The swelling and black eyes made me look like a caveman who had lost a fight. The implants were still sensitive to the touch but not overly so. By the end of the day, still using cold packs, the swelling had begun to subside and definition around the innermost horns was starting to take form.

Day 5 - The horns begin to show

On the morning of the fifth day the swelling around my eyes had all but subsided - though they were still black and blue. Swelling on the implants had also decreased and through the day the inner most horns began to show better definition - now being much easier to feel through the skin. Aside from appearance, I was able to have a fairly normal daily routine interrupted by brief stints with a cold pack.

One week and beyond

By the end of a week almost all of the bruising had disappeared. Swelling continued to subside and the ridges became more and more dramatic. It is now a bit over a month and they are looking quite good, I am very happy with the results. They have taken some incidental bumping/contact and reacted quite well; while I would not want them to get hit (who wants to get hit in the face anyway, implants or no) I am confident they do not present a real liability in that respect.

Summary

I often tell people that my implants were the most painful of my modifications, this is true, but they were also worth every bit of it. They healed wonderfully and I have since added to their already powerful visual impact by tattooing over them as part of my facial tattoo work. The tattooing was not noticeably different from my perspective in terms of sensation, but my artist did find the tissue to be a bit more 'delicate' to work on than the rest of my forehead, which understandable due it being a bit thinned and with a more rigid surface underneath. Public reaction usually consists of either "what did you do to your eyebrows/forehead" or "did you get steel balls put into your forehead" - oddly, most people are more interested in the fact that they are teflon than anything else once I explain the procedure to them.