Lampstand Photography
Alissa Waters Shade Tattoo Studio
Sandra Jones (who requested that we not use her real name) had a double mastectomy and double breast reconstruction at UW Health University Hospital after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Now three years cancer-free, she’s ready for the final step — areola pigmentation, a tattoo designed to recreate or enhance the color and shape of the areola and nipple. UW Hospital offers the service, but also refers patients to Alissa Waters, owner of Shade Medical & Creative Tattoo at 3230 University Ave.
For Jones, 55, areola pigmentation symbolized survival and her defeat of cancer. “When you get out of the shower and glance at yourself...” she begins, then stops. “I have breasts, and the tattoos make me feel normal. It’s not a reminder that I was sick.”
There are currently 63 licensed body art (tattoo, piercing) establishments in Dane County, according to Public Health Madison & Dane County — 32 of which are licensed shops that provide permanent make-up services. Of those 32, Shade is one of four shops that offer medical tattoos.
Waters opened Shade, the city’s first woman-owned tattoo shop, in 2016. Her background includes an apprenticeship at Spike-O-Matic Tattoo, while earning her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from UW-Madison. She’s also completed a three-day medical tattoo master class in the United Kingdom.
Waters also offers scar services, including scalp pigmentation and camouflage where hair no longer grows over a scar, along with traditional art tattoos that camouflage a scar anywhere on the body.
The majority of her business is still traditional tattoo art, but Waters says the medical side is growing. Waters is working with SSM Health Dean Medical Group and has also developed relationships with UW Health and OSF HealthCare in Rockford, Illinois, all of which refer patients to her after breast reconstruction.
Areola pigmentation is an outpatient procedure that can be completed in a few hours, Waters says. Application of the tattoos takes about an hour per breast in addition to the time required to ensure proper areola placement and color matching.
3D shading can create the illusion of a protruding nipple, without nipple reconstruction surgery. For this, Waters uses specific tattoo shading techniques to create depth and texture.
A topical anesthetic is applied before and during both procedures. Waters also schedules a three-week follow-up appointment for necessary touch-ups.
Generally tattoo consults take place at least three months after the patient’s last surgery for reconstructed breasts. When covering scars, patients may have to wait six months to a year before their first appointment.
Samuel Poore, associate professor for plastic surgery at the School of Medicine and Public Health at UW-Madison, refers patients to Waters. He heard about her business through the medical community grapevine. Poore says patients seldom know about the option of areola pigmentation and 3D nipple shading.
That final step of breast reconstruction is the nipple and is symbolic for many women, says
Scalp pigmentation can hide scars where hair won’t grow.
Poore, and often “a chance to celebrate. That also is a reason why people want to get out of the medical setting — they want that celebratory occasion. It’s a symbol of finishing the job and being done with cancer.”
Nipple reconstruction and the tattooing should be covered by insurance — Poore cites the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 (WHCRA), which mandates coverage for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. “That law includes having things done until the breast is complete, which includes nipple reconstruction,” Poore notes.
Waters says she’s experienced reluctance and refusal from insurance providers on covering areola pigmentation. “I’m working on it,” says Waters, who has hired a billing company to work with insurance providers. How to win the battle? Insurers need to see [medical tattooing] come frequently across their desk, Waters says. Having referrals from doctors and the accompanying official paperwork “really helps,” she adds.
As for Jones, she gives Waters’ name to everyone she can. “She gave me a sense of peace with myself. It’s tragic when you go through something like this. Now this is the end [of it], and I’m okay.”
Shade Medical & Creative Tattoo
3230 University Ave.; 608-571-2617; shademedtattoo.com
