Experts sound alarm over tattoos under anesthesia​on March 23, 2025 at 6:45 pm

It might be best to sleep on this tattoo trend.

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Ink enthusiasts are getting tattoos under anesthesia, but medical experts are warning against this practice, with one man’s death being blamed on it.

General anesthesia produces a sleep-like state with the use of a combination of medicines. It’s often used before and during surgery or other medical procedures. However, some wishing to get inked without feeling the pain of the needle are asking to be knocked out for the duration of their sessions.

Romeo Lacoste, a tattoo artist at The California Dream shop in Los Angeles, said his clients have increasingly becoming interested in sedation tattooing. He has been offering that service for 18 months.

“I’ve been working with a lot of celebrities and high net-worth individuals, and they’ve actually been asking me about this for quite some time,” Lacoste told USA Today, according to the New York Post.

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The artists said he only works with credible anesthesiologists and takes all the standard precautions, including a doctor’s evaluation and being in an operating room.

“We finally found a way to make it happen and connect the dots and work with some of the top anesthesiologists in Los Angeles. The facility that we work with is one of the best of the best, so everything that we do is always top-of-the-line and safety first,” he said.

Lacoste said that his clients who undergo general anesthesia usually do so to get intricate tattoos covering a lot of surface area

The process, which can take days to complete, can cost between $30,000 and $35,000, he said, compared with a back tattoo without anesthesia costing about $10,000 to $15,000.

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The process carries risks including infection, allergic reactions and skin issues such as scarring, the Miami Herald reported.

Dr. Tiffany Moon, an author and anesthesiologist, has concerns.

“It makes me so angry that people are doing this,” Moon said in a TikTok clip.

“My concern, as a board-certified anesthesiologist, is how safe is this when it’s happening?” she told USA Today.

There is precedent for her concerns.

On Jan. 20, Ricardo Godoi, a Brazilian auto influencer, went into cardiac arrest and died during a procedure to ink his entire back.

The tattoo artist reportedly had not even started when Godoi suffered a heart attack shortly after the sedation process started.

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