Implant shipment arrived with poly bag not sealed. Still Safe?

Hi, all. I am new to the word of implants and biohacking. I’m super excited to get my first (NExT) implant installed.

However, the package that I received contained a non-sealed poly bag. It appears that the heat-seal on one side of the poly bag went right over the corner of the paper packaging for the injector and didn’t seal. There is a big ~50 mm gap that is not sealed. The big scary orange label, and the kit unboxing webpage says not to open the poly bag until you are ready to implant the chip.

I’m wondering how strictly this has to be followed. I actually work in an industry that sells EO gas sterilized medical devices, and I was under the impression the paper alone is effective at maintaining sterility. Additionally, surely the items are sterilized first, and then sealed in the (non-sterile?) poly bag? But I do understand that it’s still paper, and even a tiny hole or puncture is all it takes… The retail box as well as the shipping box were in good condition, so I don’t think it was crushed or otherwise abused.

Any advice on if I can ignore this hole?
If it matters, the stamp indicates that it was sterilized in January.

Thanks a bunch.

I opened a bag and wasn’t able to install it at the time unfortunately, but I’ve got no plans to install it since it’s already opened. Don’t want to risk it. I would use the help button on the site, or Amal might reply here regarding the packaging.

Edit: Looks like the paper got in-between the sealing point and prevented a good seal. Dealt with that at my old job setting up heat sealers for surgical masks. Probably someone rushing and didn’t properly look at the bag.

Edit2: You might be able to find a piercer with an autoclave that can sterilize the implant before install.

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Yes, that’s how it works. But I’d still ask @amal his opinion with regards to safety.

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Thanks, guys. I’ve reached out about this. Will report…

@invalid_signal I don’t think I’d want to heat these parts, just to be on the safe side. But
re-sterilizing it is a good idea. I’ll ask around at my company next week, and see if there’s anyway I can get it EO sterilized.

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The autoclave will work for x series implants, but not for magnets. If you can get it EOd though, that would be nice!!

That’s good to know. Sterilizing it right before use would certainly be best. So I’ll call some local tattoo/piercing places.

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I was able to respond to the ticket set through the help button on the website. Basically, as long as the internal components of the bag are not handled roughly, they should still be safe to use.

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Thank you so much for the quick and helpful reply.

Given that I have not handled the contents of the poly bag, I feel safe to still use everything. I’ll be doing it as soon as I can, though.

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Don’t forget to post when you get it installed so we can all chant ONE OF US ONE OF US :stuck_out_tongue:

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I definitely will. :grinning:

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Welp. …20 hours after injection. Everything is looking good. The placement
seems really good - slightly visible bump if I flex, and it reads totally fine once I learned the position.

Kinda sore but no visible bruising. For a first timer, I think the injection was more psychologically painful than physically.

Exciting!

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Congratulations and…“One of them, one of them, one of them!”

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giphy (10)

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Exactly, we all try to tell people this, but nobody believes it until they have experienced it themselves.

There looks to be some visible inflammation, so don’t be surprised if your ability to scan is a little fickle for a week or two

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