X-series tag removal

A properly installed x-series tag rests in the fascia, which is the connective tissue between the dermis and muscle. Removal is a fairly simple process that any general practice doctor should be able to perform in their office.

There are a few ways to go about removing a tag. Cutting it out with a scalpel, removing it with a large gauge needle, and using saline injection to eject it. First we will cover scalpel based removal since this is the procedure that most medical doctors will be comfortable with.

Scalpel removal

The one key piece of information that your doctor should know, is that if your x-series tag has been in long enough to be encapsulated by fibrin and collagen, it may take some additional assistance to remove, since they will have to break that encapsulation with a scalpel by scraping or cutting open a hole in it for the tag to slide out of.

The easiest way to do this is to assist the doctor. Put on a glove and get ready to push the tag up from the underside of your hand.

  • feel or find implant and mark the skin

  • make small incision just above or below “the long way”, so at the top or bottom of the tube, not alongside it

  • if anesthetic is warranted, only use a very small amount just at the point of incision so as not to balloon the tissue so much it becomes unworkable

Once the doctor sees where the end of the tag is under the skin, then can mark and incise at that location. Remove pressure from the tag and let them make the cut. Then re-apply pressure so the end of the tag wants to come up and out of the incision. The doctor can then cut or scrape away any encapsulative tissue that may be holding the tag in, and once the way is clear it should pop out easily, or be guided out with forceps.

In this series of photos, you can see the doctor first working open the incision, then I’m assisting in pressing the transponder up toward the incision and the tag is coming out, and finally the wound after removal.

Needle removal

Basically the prep process is the same, but an 8g or 10g needle is used to remove the tag. The professional will see the tag pressing up from under the skin as you apply pressure, and the needle can be used to incise and envelop the tag as it penetrates the skin. Once fully enveloped by the needle, retraction of the needle and pressure from underneath can pull the tag out.

Saline injection

The saline approach seems to be the most straightforward for removing an x-series implant, but sterile injectable pyrogen-free saline is might not be sitting around at your local body piercering shop. The process is simple - guide a small gauge hypodermic needle through the skin, through the encapsulation, and into the pocket alongside your x-series implant (not flex). Once there, just inject saline until there is a sufficient pillowing effect on the tissue, then remove the needle and apply some pressure to the pillow… the flow of saline out of the injection site will push the x-series right out - kinda like popping a pimple.

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