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A “medical alert” tattoo is a tattoo that communicates important medical information about a patient, such as a severe allergy or the presence of a disease. These tattoos are meant to replace traditional medical alert bracelets, which can get lost. Although these tattoos are growing in popularity, there is still no consensus about the design or placement of such tattoos. This can make them more difficult for medical professionals to detect. A “meat tag” is a tattoo on a member of the US military, meant to indicate essential identification data. These tattoos—which perform the same function and often mimic the appearance of traditional “dog tags”—are growing in popularity within the armed forces. External radiotherapy (sometimes called external beam radiotherapy) is a form of cancer treatment that uses a machine to aim beams of radiation at cancer cells. A series of marks must be made on the patient’s skin—either small tattoos or dots of permanent marker—to guide the radiotherapy process. Radiotherapy tattoos are preferable to marks made by permanent marker because they cannot be accidentally washed off.  Unlike other medical tattoos, you may have this done directly by your radiographer. If you prefer to have these tattoos done at a studio, your radiographer can draw marks for your tattoo artist to follow. Following breast surgery (usually a mastectomy, but sometimes also breast reductions) many patients opt to have tattoos done. These may be cosmetic—tattooing on an areola or replacing lost pigment—or aesthetic—an elaborate design to cover scars and/or signify one’s journey. Sometimes women opt to have a post-mastectomy tattoo instead of breast implants or other cosmetic surgery. Other times, these tattoos are in addition to cosmetic reconstruction.
Learn about “medical alert” tattoos. Research “meat tag” tattoos. Learn about “radiotherapy” tattoos. Look into “post-mastectomy” tattoos.