A few questions about my recently implanted magnet

edited August 2018 in Procedures

After my first attempt to implant a magnet failed, I'm really excited about the success of my second attempt.

I've done the magnet plating and the procedure all by myself, so i feel really rewarded to have succeeded!

I've performed the procedure about two weeks ago, and today, a bit of dry skin that was covering the incision came off, revealing that the cut had completely healed with the magnet inside (pictures below)
Also, it's not painful or uncomfortable anymore, even when I press on it. I'm fairly confident that the magnet won't reject at this point.

Anyway: Here's a few questions I have:

1: Is it normal for the magnet to create a small bulge as seen in the pictures? The magnet I used is a 2x1mm cylinder.

2: I tried to not use the magnet as best as I can, but I had a few accidents where it got stuck to my keys or my phone as I reached inside my pocket. Will this affect the final sensitivity? Also I tried sensing a big magnet several times from far away to see how much sensation I feel.

3: When should I expect to start getting some more sensitivity? Currently, I can feel strong fields, such as those caused by permanent magnets or electric motors and I can feel metallic objects when they're really close. The skin above the magnet is also not very sensitive to touch

Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/G4MUaGH
Note: on the last pic, the area around the magnet looks a bit red, but that's just because of the lighting conditions

Comments

  • What I heard it can take up to six month. I work in the delicatess department of a supermarket. I got my magnet in February 2018. In June I got a new job, in an other supermarket. in the second week of August I was able to feel the machines when we cut the sausages (the on and off button)

    I was able to feel the next day after implantation the strong field of the security gates. I stand there and smilied. My friend was also able to feel it- when she touched my finger...

  • Your incision was made in an incorrect way. You certainly did not do adequate research beforehand. The way you made the incision creates a lot of stress to the wound, maybe preventing it to heal properly.

    What is what it looks to be blood stains around the wound?
    As I don't see the stitch (did you use stitches?) I asume that is/was after healing. That shouldn't be there unless it was taken the same day.

    The bulge isn't supposed to be there. Either the magnet was too big for your finger or you didn't go deep enough.

    --

    How did you coat it? Do you have experience doing that? How did you make sure your coating was safe? (Looked at it in a microscope? Tasted in in saline?...)

    --

    I usually don't comment on the blog, but I'm concerned. It does look red and swollen. Check if the temperature is the same as in any other finger. If it's hotter, you've got a problem.

    Can you walk me through your process of implanting it? I have 0 experience on coating stuff, but I know my things on medical.

    Also post some more pictures with natural light if you can.

    Cheers.

  • edited September 2018
    I thought that this way, it would put less stress onto the wound. How does it cause more stress? Could you explain?

    My magnet is really small (1x2mm) and thr incision was as well, so I used an adhesive bandage instead of stiches. The incision itself healed well, but I might not have put it deep enough, that's probably the reason why it looks the way it does. I read on the wiki that the incision should be 1-2 mm. Should it be deeper?

    For coating, I used cobalt-hardened gold (I also did my research on this, the amount of cobalt in the coating is not far from the recommended daily dose and it makes the coating much harder than pure gold)

    I tested the magnet by dipping it hydrochloric acid for 24 hours and it didn't react to it in any way.

    As for the procedure, I made a starting incision with a scalpel (as you can see in the images) and then dug out a pocket going as far as about 5mm away from the incision. I used lidocaine for anestesia.

    As I said in the initial post, It looked quite good about 2 weeks after implanting, but now, it does look red.

    http://imgur.com/a/8hvVEut
  • Interesting. The issue with stuff like this is trying to figure out why it's having issues. It's hard to tell if it's an issue with the procedure or the coating. Do you have any pics of the magnet after coating? Was it electroplated? Believe it or not, acid tests really aren't as effective as a saline soak. I know a dude who soaked some TiN units in a strong acid for a month without issue.. they failed in a few days in saline though.
    From the most recent pic what it looks like to me is that it healed up fine but that you're reacting to the coating. It looks like your forming a capsule around it. This is sub optimal, but not too serious. In fact, it may not even be the coating per se. I mean gold is pretty good for stuff like this. Either way, your body has identified it as a foreign body. Rather than a rejection it's forming a capsule to isolate it. If you want, you can ice it a few times a day and take an NSAID like ibuprofen. It should decrease inflammation enough to prevent it from doing much more. If you pull this off, then it'll be fine. You won't have as much sensitivity as a magnet that isn't encapsulated though.
  • If it's a capsule, the whole thing should feel hard. It's there any discoloration going on? I'm wondering if your coating has failed that's why you're reacting. PM me and let me know where you're located. If you decide to take it out you're going to want to cut out the capsule as well. It's a tad more involved.
  • @delta12 said:
    I thought that this way, it would put less stress onto the wound. How does it cause more stress? Could you explain?

    An incision in the finger should be parallel to the longitud. If you cut perpendicular(horizontal/across), when you flex and extend your finger (move it in any way) the skin on both sides of the wound will be pulled away from the other (opening the wound) or be pushed against (causing stress).

    When you cut vertical, both sides will be pulled together andheal properly.

    I am saying skin/wound, but you should be thinking in the muscles inside that you cut, those can last up to 6 weeks to heal properly

    https://goo.gl/9gYzA6 (google: incision finger if you want to see more diagrams)


    My magnet is really small (1x2mm) and the incision was as well, so I used an adhesive bandage instead of stitches. The incision itself healed well, but I might not have put it deep enough, that's probably the reason why it looks the way it does. I read on the wiki that the incision should be 1-2 mm. Should it be deeper?

    This was probably a wound that needed stitches. Again, think of the muscle that you cut in the process. It also needs to heal but because of the poor incision it was probably under a lot of stress between the wound alone and the strange object inside.


    For coating, I used cobalt-hardened gold (I also did my research on this, the amount of cobalt in the coating is not far from the recommended daily dose and it makes the coating much harder than pure gold)

    I tested the magnet by dipping it hydrochloric acid for 24 hours and it didn't react to it in any way.

    How are you sure? What procedure did you take to make sure it didn't have microscopic tearing?


    As for the procedure, I made a starting incision with a scalpel (as you can see in the images) and then dug out a pocket going as far as about 5mm away from the incision. I used lidocaine for anestesia.

    Can you elaborate on your sterile procedure? What direction did you cut inside?


    As I said in the initial post, It looked quite good about 2 weeks after implanting, but now, it does look red.

    http://imgur.com/a/8hvVEut

    On your first images it shows almost no bulge. It now looks swollen and red. If it's hot/warm to the touch, those are signs of infections, but I doubt it.

    Most likely, if you ask me, your procedure lead to too much stress to the wound (muscle again) and you are rejecting it. I've heard the rejections pop out, I'm not sure about this. You can always cut it out and place it elsewhere (trying it in the same place would have to wait until it healed properly, around 7 weeks).

    This last is my humble opinion and should not be taken as a fact, I have medical experience but I'm not a professional per se. Also, just from looking at pictures it's not that easy. Do your research, ask professionals (in person) if you can. Just don't do anything stupid nor any guessing.

  • Thanks for your explanations people

    @Cassox said:
    Do you have any pics of the magnet after coating? Was it electroplated?

    I don't think I have any, but I have one identical magnet that I kept as a backup. It was electroplated at very low voltage, I also ground up the original surface to make it rougher and to remove most of dirt, impurities and oxides. I also chemically cleaned the surface before coating.

    I've done multiple experiments with the coatings, trying out various voltages, exposure times, cleaning methods, etc. Some of the samples failed, but these two were completely untouched (I managed to refine my process quite well). I also done a control test with uncoated magnet and it got completely destroyed just after a few hours.

    @BerniRuv said:
    How are you sure? What procedure did you take to make sure it didn't have microscopic tearing?

    I can't be ever 100% sure, I work with what I have, I don't have a million dollar lab.

    Also I didn't cut into muscle, I am sure about that. I'm not a doctor, but I know enough to be able to differentiate tissues.

    @Cassox said:
    If it's a capsule, the whole thing should feel hard.

    It doesn't actually, it is swollen somewhat, and does feel the part, but I wouldn't describe it as hard. Also, it doesn't hurt, it is a but uncomfortable when I press on it, but to too bad.

    @BerniRuv said:
    Can you elaborate on your sterile procedure? What direction did you cut inside?

    I've sterilized my field and any tools/objects I worked with with isopropanol, and used betadine as an antiseptic on the magnet and on the wound as well.
    I've made the starter incision at the point you can probably see, and cut my way inline with the finger's axis, towards the tip. The plane of the pocket is parallel with the surface of the finger.

    There was a piece of dry skin at the point where I made the incision after it healed shut. I think the swelling started when it finally came off. It also probably made the skin on that side of the magnet a little thinner.

    I think the swelling is receeding very slightly. I don't see any discoloration, pus, or other signs of infection. It also doesn't feel warm.

    I'm probably far from executing the procedure perfectly, but I do the best that I can. This thing is something unheard of here in Slovakia, so I have literally zero options of purchasing a proper magnet unless I want to buy in bulk or pay an ungodly amount of money for shipping. The local piercers/artsts or doctors won't do such thing, so I done it myself.

    I thought about removing it, but I don't want to give up on it yet. I spent the whole summer preparing for this and now after all I've been through I don't want to lose hope that this might still turn into success.

  • It's definetly better today. It might actually be okay in the end. Lets hope so.
  • I thought that it was getting better, but it's not really. It's still red and swollen. Doesn't hurt or anything, even when I press on it. Even though I can see the magnet move under the skin due to magnetic fields, the sensation is very weak. Not sure what to do with it. If it doesn't get better, I might have to remove it.
  • @delta12 said:
    I thought that it was getting better, but it's not really. It's still red and swollen. Doesn't hurt or anything, even when I press on it. Even though I can see the magnet move under the skin due to magnetic fields, the sensation is very weak. Not sure what to do with it. If it doesn't get better, I might have to remove it.

    Have you removed it yet? It's certainly rejected and leaving it in is only putting a lot of strain on your immune system and etc. The poisoning you can get from this isn't a joke, if I remember correctly it can seriously affect your kidney, liver, blood, and formation of neurons in the long term.

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