“Nice nipples!”
“Thanks, it’s a tattoo…”
River Jay Waterson was unbelievably happy when he got top surgery, but when it healed something wasn’t quite right. He was proud of the journey he’d been on and loved his new silhouette. But the scars were a reminder of the battles he faced. Reminders he didn’t need. What could he do about it? Get a tattoo.
BY YASMIN VINCE
Heavy scarring is incredibly common after a double mastectomy, and it’s becoming more and more popular to cover these scars with a tattoo. They can be decorative, designed to hide the evidence of the procedure, or a replica of the nipples. For the people getting them, they can be life-changing.
“I finally matched the image in my head to the person looking in the mirror,” says River (he/him). “Getting my mastectomy tattoo was as life-changing as the surgery.” River’s torso features both a nipple tattoo and a large octopus, whose tentacles twist and curl around his scars, hiding them from view. Since having these pieces done, he never wears a shirt – unless he has to.