MIAMI — A full body tattoo would typically take multiple sessions, but a Miami company is putting clients under anesthesia and getting it done in a day.

“We’re actually the only ones in Florida, and as far as we know, we’re also the only ones in the whole country,” Michael Zuratti, CEO of Sedation Ink, said.

It’s a new medical twist on the industry that dates back over 5,000 years.

“(I) think it was a very cool idea, a very cool idea … as we know in Miami, we’re very big on plastic surgery,” Dr. Bryan Merkel, an anesthesiologist for Sedation Ink, said.

Since February 2024, the specialized Miami-based tattoo studio has been offering up large-scale tattooing while clients are under general anesthesia.

“I think we’re at the forefront of (a) shift in the industry,” Zuratti said. “So, you know, we do believe that eventually this will be more prevalent nationwide. Having said that, we are at the forefront and we’re excited to kind of set a good example in terms of, you know, making sure that the safety is of utmost importance.”

Zuratti exclusively gave Local 10 News a look at the process from the beginning, starting with the final consultation for their latest client – a business owner from Boston who asked that we blur his face and only use his initials, E.C.

“Doing this cover-up, it would take a long time,” he said.

The 37-year-old opted for the fast track, covering up tattoos he got inked when he was 15 years old.

“You change as you grow and then you start realizing that some tattoos, like, hey, they don’t fit you anymore,” E.C. said.

E.C. says the company’s online marketing piqued his interest, including Sedation’s tag line, “say goodbye to the pain.”

The procedure helps to expedite tattooing sessions for clients. Traditionally, large-scale tattoos can take upward of two years to complete with multiple hours of long sessions.

“We’re able to do large-scale projects in five, six hours,” Zuratti said.

“We’re seeing it in like LA and New York and Miami, and the typical places that you would expect to sort of find cutting edge ideas and thoughts on medicine and aesthetics and things like that,” Dr. Cameron Howard, chief of anesthesiology at Memorial Hospital West, said. “We have to take it seriously and we can’t be frivolous with it. So that being said, for patients receiving anesthesia for a tattoo, they should have all of the same precautions and the same emergency capabilities available to them.”

Back in 2025, the American Society of Anesthesiologists released a statement regarding anesthesia for tattoos, stating that going under for a tattoo can be dangerous, but “is no different from receiving it for an elective procedure.”

“It is a very serious undertaking, right? And it shouldn’t be treated like a spa day,” Howard said.

“This is an elective procedure, right? So the patient is unconscious and, you know, with a breathing tube so, it’s a medical procedure first,” Zuratti said.

What separates Sedation Ink from others is how the company is registered as both a tattoo shop and medical center, Zuratti said.

“Pitching this to the Florida Medical Board, contacting the tattoo establishment licensed people, so we’re certified with both departments, and, you know, it took a lot of groundwork to build this,” Zuratti said. “So, since day one, safety, safety, safety -- that’s what we push every day.”

“We pretty much give the patient medication through an IV, they go to sleep, once they’re completely asleep, they get a breathing tube,” Merkel said.

So far, the company has performed more than 50 procedures at South Florida Surgical Center after clients receive clearance from their primary physician, with a nurse and anesthesiologist monitoring.

“It’s no different than getting a general anesthesia for a plastic surgery procedure, for any type of other procedure, getting a colonoscopy,” Merkel said.

“The industry has been asking for this for a long time, but obviously it’s not for everyone,” tattoo artist Francisco Gomez said.

For seven years, Gomez has been tattooing clients and he’s been contracted with Sedation Ink for two years.

“My first reaction was like, ‘Before I say yes to anything, how is it working?’” Gomez said.

He, along with a handful of other artists, helped to design tattoos and cover up E.C.’s chest.

“The second the client gets put under, there’s a clock ticking, and the doctor doesn’t leave the room for the entire seven hours,” Gomez said.

Zuratti said he wants Sedation Ink to be “known as a lead provider that focuses on safety first, and then the tattooing secondary.”

Medical professionals and Sedation Ink both underscore that this is a medical procedure first.

Howard said serious reactions can range from airway issues to pulmonary or cardiac complications.

The best practice is to check with your doctor first and verify the company performing the procedure.

The price tag for Sedation Ink ranges from $32,000-$52,000.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.