It’s been almost a year since my NExT implant and I’m always so happy I got it.
Now I’ve been in lockdown for 175 days (Australian, Victoria has been locked down hard) so I decided when all this is over, I’m treating myself to another step in my journey to become a cyborg.
I have my eyes on the NExT Flex with some cool blinky lights.
Now I know something like a flex has a whole different insert experience, and scaring is more prominent due to incision.
People who have flex implants, Whether its a small flex DF, Flex NT or even the NExt Flex. can you show me your implant site? and how long it has been healing?
The reason I suggest this is, you already have a NExT, the FlexMT still gives you another T5577 which as you know is good because this can emulate other LF tags, you can have a different mode on each, ontop of that you already have an NTAG216, with the FlexMT you get a Mifare Magic 1k that you can emulate compatible HF UIDs/ NUIDs
PLUS you can get it with Blinkies
Yeah mate, not great for you guys at the moment, Stay safe
When my installer put the flexM1 in my hand the other day, I asked him if he had the custom needle from DT. He said he didn’t and wouldn’t use it anyway because it left too small a pocket. He also said a bit of scalpelling and skin lifting with his thin skin lifter created less damage. 6 days on, I totally believe him: it’s as if nothing had happened at all at any moment after the installation, at the entry point or over the implant. Seriously impressive.
When I contacted a local body mod studio before lockdown I asked them if they use the needle method or scalpel. They said they find they get a cleaner result with a scalpel too.
I can see that, one clean, straight incision instead of diagonal force with a curved cutting point. I think needle is easier to lean and might lower the barrier to entry for some installers and be faster for them, but i think a lot of installers with years of experience will go with the tools they know and trust.
The issue is not the initial incision… the issue is dermal elevation once through the dermis. If the artist uses the scalpel to “make the pocket”, either they are making a mistake or they are brain surgeon level good. If they use a dermal elevator, then sure… in theory this is “better” because there is more control and less likelihood of damaging a larger blood vessel… but in the case of a wedge shaped flex, the needle method is fast and easy and only slightly more risky compared to the dermal elevator. If I had to make a pros and cons list;
Needle Pros
Legal for piercers to use
No sutures needed
Fast
Relatively safe
Crescent incision typically heals with less scarring
Can, in theory, be done without pain management
Needle Cons
Easier to damage blood vessels (bruising, hematoma, etc.)
I’ll just jump in at that point - the suture for my silicone implant was the first I ever got, and I removed it myself (after my artist reassured me that I’d be able to ) Were just three stitches, and absolutely no problem. The suture for the flexNExT were 9 stitches, I removed 4 of them myself and then went to my local piercer, who removed the remaining 5 - had not-so-good healing, so I decided to let a pro take a look at it. But if everything goes “normal”, it’s no problem to remove sutures yourself, I think.
And I’ve got another big Pro for the scalpel-and-elevator-method: It’s just an incredibly funny feeling! Recommend that to everyone And that’s not even ironic, I think it was a really special experience… but that might just be me
Ah, and since the thread asks for it - that’s my scar as of now, 5 weeks minus one day old. Yeah, my body hates sutures…
Also here’s my FlexM1 (the red line on my wrist area) scar from doing it with a needle.
Also @amal well beyond on theory that the needle method doesn’t really need a pain management kit, I’d go as far as saying it hurts about the same or less than doing an xLED.
Honestly, I think it’s my favorite position I’ve got. I never really feel it, it provides for a super convenient placement for scanning both devices like phones, and also external readers, and it looks cool because it’s a bit raised. My only concern would maybe be space though, as an Apex is gonna be a bit longer than a flexNT, and I feel like the flexNT is pretty much at the max size I would want here, but maybe that’s just me.
its been 15 days since I got my flexnext. I had some fluid retention in the pocket, its getting better. I was taking prenatal vitamins for the last three weeks. I’ve stopped now. After taking the stitches out I started using bio oil to help minimize scarring.
It’s quite amazing how long that implant needle dot stays visible. For such a small puncture, it’s really quite surprising. The one on my foot seems to linger around even longer than the ones I had in my hands. Maybe blood flow, or cell regeneration, are less efficient in lower limbs…
It is my hunch that this dot lasts a long time for people who go bevel up and end up with a flap of skin folded under…that takes a long time for the body to sort out. If the needle goes bevel down or the flap created by bevel up is properly pulled back out with the needle then this dot goes away rather quickly… at least this has been my experience with all the various installs and replacements over the years.
) Were just three stitches, and absolutely no problem. The suture for the 
And that’s not even ironic, I think it was a really special experience… but that might just be me 
