Problems with jewelry for my tongue piercings?

I have a venom piercing (two tongue piercings side by side). I went to the dentist today and found out that my left tongue ring has caused a lot of recession to my gums and I will most likely need graft surgery to replace my damaged gums. At this point, I have two options. I could find a different kind of jewelry that doesn't damage my gums, like perhaps a long labret stud, or I could just take my tongue rings out and let the holes close. I've had them for two years now I'm really disappointed about taking them out. Do you have any ideas about how to keep my holes open or what kind of jewelry would work without having a ball on the bottom? I was thinking of either a flat bottomed labret stud or a bioplast tongue retainer. The problem with the retainer is that the O-ring or rubber band, is a huuuuge pain the ***. Any ideas or places I could find a long enough labret stud?