Laser tattoo removal

Lasers have become the treatment of choice for tattoo removal, primarily because of the decreased risk of scarring. Laser tattoo removal does occasionally produce a scar, especially on the chest or back of a person prone to the development of keloids, or lumpy scars. Nevertheless, overall the risk of scarring with laser treatment is much less than with any other treatment.
The laser works by putting out a very high intensity beam of light that is absorbed by the tattoo pigment and shatters it. Tattoo lasers tend to be Q switched, which means they put out a very powerful pulse of light that is very short in duration. The light must interact with the pigment to be effective, so the wavelength of the laser determines the colors that the laser can treat.

The most common tattoo color is black, followed by blue, green, red, yellow and orange. Many colors seen in tattoos are a mixture of pigments. Amateur tattoos tend to respond better to treatment, probably because they contain less pigment. The most commonly used tattoo laser is the Q switched YAG laser which can treat black, most blue and red ink. It is of note that it cannot treat green ink, which is the third most common color. Also, some of the blues, such as sky blue, that are made of a mixture of pigments, can be difficult to treat. Multiple treatments are necessary for any tattoo. Unfortunately they are more expensive to get than to get rid of.
Possible other complications of tattoo removal are infection, if the skin is broken, incomplete removal of pigment, ghosting (having an area in the shape of the tattoo that is lighter than the surrounding skin) and, rarely, an allergic reaction to the tattoo pigment that is released into the circulation. Removing a tattoo is a significant undertaking.

Gerald N. Bock MD

Stockton, CA

For more information about tattoo removal see California Skin Laser Tattoo Removal Page

Comments

[Mike Smith]

Are you not happy with the tattoo inked on your skin? Laser treatment tattoo removal process is the best idea then. Though costly ($200 to $500 per session) to some extent, laser treatment tattoo removal does not generally harm surrounding skin and completely remove the tattoo.