Tongue stud leaves teen with lisp

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Schoolgirl, 15, rushed to surgery after tongue piercing ruptures vein

By Last updated at 8:11 PM on 4th May 2010

A girl of 15 needed an emergency operation after having her tongue pierced in a

tattoo parlour.

Reece-Marie Hall, who had claimed she was 16, began to bleed heavily following

the £15 procedure to insert a silver bar.

She was taken to hospital by ambulance and had to be placed under general

anaesthetic before doctors removed the bar and stemmed the bleeding from a

suspected ruptured vein.

Her case is a warning to the thousands of young people every year who have their

tongue pierced.

Reece-Marie visited the Classic piercing and tattoo studio, in Hull city centre.

'At first my tongue didn't bleed, but after I left the shop, the tongue started

pouring with blood,' she said. 'I kept choking.'

She returned to the shop, where staff gave her some gauze. But when she arrived

home in North Hull, her 35-year-old mother Leeanne called an ambulance.

She said: 'Reece-Marie was taken to hospital while I tried to find someone to

look after my two young boys.

'When I got there I nearly passed out - there was so much blood. Reece-Marie now

has a lisp and I can't always understand what she's saying. I hope it isn't a

permanent thing.'

Reece-Marie, who also has trouble eating, added: 'I am taking iron because I

lost too much blood and I am also on antibiotics and paracetamol. My tongue is

not as swollen as it was, but it has stitches in it and it's very painful.'

The family say they are considering suing the shop.

Tattoo and piercing parlours need to be registered with the local authority for

cleanliness checks but there is no minimum legal age for body piercing although

the city council recommends parental consent be sought for under-16s.

Steve Rowe, who carried out the procedure, blamed the teenager for causing the

problem. He insisted she must have 'interfered' with the piercing after leaving

his shop.

He said: 'She was on our premises for at least ten minutes after she had the

tongue pierced.

'She paid me and she left happy. She didn't come back for about half an hour.

When she did I applied minimal pressure for about one minute and the bleeding

did stop.

'But she wouldn't leave it alone and kept making it worse.' Mr Rowe was adamant

he had not caused Reece-Marie's injury.

He added: 'I have been doing this for 30 years and before I puncture the tongue

I check for veins.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1271239/Tongue-piercing-ruptures-vein-le\

aving-schoolgirl-needing-surgery.html