THE mother of an 8-year-old girl who underwent surgery to remove an earring that became stuck in her ear wants to raise awareness of the risks posed by piercing.

Sarah Goodman, of Caldicot, believes the damage caused by the first-time stud to her daughter Gracie-May’s ear was made worse by the size of the stud itself.

The Durand Primary School pupil had been taken to have her ear pierced at the Claire’s Accessories store in Newport Retail Park in August.

“After months of my daughter asking I finally relented and agreed, and her father took her,” said Ms Goodman.

“He was told that they were appropriate but I couldn’t help but think they were too big for first-time studs.”

According to Miss Goodman, her daughter showed no discomfort and continued to wash the ear on a daily basis.

While visiting a friend’s house, Gracie-May was told that her ear had turned green, prompting concerns that something was wrong with the piercing.

And earlier this month, Ms Goodman was called out from work to take her daughter to the Royal Gwent Hospital.

“The earring had gone right through the front of her ear and was embedded inside. We think she must’ve knocked it at some point,” she said.

Four days after her first hospital visit, Gracie-May had to be placed under general anaesthetic while surgeons worked to remove the earring.

The wound was stitched and dressed but Gracie-May had to miss four days of school, with her mother also having to take two days off work to deal with the situation.

“The doctors who helped her said that to have an earring removed at hospital is taking a bed from someone else,” added Ms Goodman.

In a letter sent to Ms Goodman, Claire’s apologised and wrote: “An embedding usually happens when the ears swell, due to either a knock or an infection, a reaction to the piercing or when the butterfly backs are positioned too closely towards the ear lobe.

“An embedding can occur at any time after the piercing and is not a result of the piercing being performed incorrectly.

“The studs that were used are standard sized studs that are suitable for ear piercing.”

Claire’s also gave the family a full refund for the £40 piercing and a £40 gift card, but Miss Goodman hopes the ordeal would serve as a warning for others.

“We had no issue with the people who had pierced Gracie-May’s ear, but I just think the damage was greater because of the stud’s size,” she said.

“I just think parents should make 100 per cent sure that they feel the earring is the right size, so things like this don’t happen again.”