Scalpelling is a body art procedure similar to

body piercing Body piercing, which is a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn, or where an Implant (medicine), implant could be inserted. The word ''pier ...

for the creation of decorative perforations through the skin and other body tissue, and is most commonly used as a replacement for or enhancement of

ear piercing An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings have been worn by people in different civilizations an ...

. Whereas piercing is typically performed with a hollow piercing needle or an ear piercing instrument, scalpelling is performed by using a

scalpel A scalpel, lancet, or bistoury is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, podiatry and various arts and crafts (either called a hobby knife or an X-acto knife.). Scalpels may be single-use disposa ...

to cut a slit into the skin. Unlike dermal punching, no flesh is removed. The technique can immediately produce holes with a larger diameter than can be achieved by piercing. This is a more rapid means of accommodating larger

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

jewellery than

stretching Stretching is a form of physical exercise in which a specific muscle or tendon (or muscle group) is deliberately flexed or stretched in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and achieve comfortable muscle tone. The result is a feeling ...

, a technique whereby piercings are enlarged by inserting gradually larger jewellery. Scalpelling is performed to quickly achieve a large-gauge piercing, when

scar tissue Scar tissue may refer to: Medicine * Scar, an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after injury * Granulation tissue Granulation tissue is new connective tissue and microscopic blood vessels that form on the surfaces of a wound d ...

is preventing further stretching, if tissue has thinned to the point where further stretching could cause it to break, or to combine two closely placed piercings into one hole. Though the wounds associated with scalpelling are large, the extremely sharp nature of the scalpel leads to a wound which is more likely to heal cleanly and without complications. Further, the use of scalpelling rather than stretching allows for greater control over which parts of the flesh will be used and can act to correct piercings that are unbalanced or poorly located. Scalpelling is a fairly new body modification technique, and is still quite rare. It is most commonly performed on earlobes, but can also be used for such modifications as labrets. Scalpelling should not be confused with a form of

scarification Scarification involves scratching, etching, burning/ branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification or body art. The body modification can take roughly 6–12 months to heal. In the ...

, whereby images are inscribed in a person's skin using a scalpel.

Risks

Because of the skill required by scalpelling and the danger associated with additional blood loss, scalpelling by piercers is not legal in some jurisdictions. One potentially negative effect of scalpelling is that the holes created by the process are less likely to close naturally over time than those from stretched piercings. Though it is still possible in some cases, especially at smaller sizes, it is far more likely that an unwanted hole would have to be closed surgically.

References

Body piercing Body modification Body art {{fashion-stub