In the Western world, more than 10% of the population have at least 1 tattoo. If the tattoo is removed, the tattoo pigment particles in the skin can be selectively destroyed by means of selective photothermolysis by different types of medical aesthetic lasers. This treatment requires laser pulses of short durations (nanoseconds) and high intensities (fluenses).

Dr. Wolfgang Bäumler, Department of Dermatology, University of Regensburg in Germany reports on 12 patients who received treatments with improper treatment parameters. In all patients, his group diagnosed hypo- or hyperpigmentations and scar formation at the treatment site. In particular, the pulse duration of the light sources or lasers applied were considerably longer than those required by the principles of selective photothermolysis. The light intensities of those devices are normally not sufficient to destroy the pigment particles. Instead of destruction, the pigment particles in the skin are heated up and the heat is conducted to the adjacent tissue causing unspecific tissue injury.

CONCLUSION

Lasers and especially intense pulsed light sources with more than 1 millisecond pulses and low light intensities are clearly not suitable to be applied for laser tattoo removal.

Many patients who undergo cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures experience significant scarring from the incisions. Procedures such as the tummy tuck, breast augmentation and facelift surgery typically leave behind large, noticeable scars that are difficult to cover up with makeup. Scars can take weeks, months and even years to heal completely and there are a number of topical scar gels and creams available to reduce the appearance of the traumatized skin.

However, results from a recent study completed at the Cosmetic Surgery and Skin Health Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pittsburgh indicate that laser therapy may be used as an early intervention plan for scar formation. Lasers can be used to stop the growth of scars by delivering high-energy waves to the skin and lightening any discoloration on the traumatized skin. Pulse-dyed lasers and fractionated lasers have been the most effective at reducing the appearance of scars after surgery so far, and lasers such as Fraxel may even help reduce the appearance of mature scars

Dr. Suzan Obagi, assistant clinical profesor of dermatology at UPMC explains that the best time to treat scars with this type of therpay is right when the sutures are removed. This helps reduce the risk of dark scar formation, and may also speed up the body’s natural healing process. Increasing collagen and elastin production helps the skin recover rapidly and restore itself to its natural state.

Younger patients tend to heal faster than older patients regardless of the type of treatment used, and overall health and diet also play a role in wound healing and scar development. Individuals who are deficient in vitamins and proteins may not be able to heal as fast or as effectively; however, laser therapy may help to reduce the risk of deep scar formation and improve the healing process overall. (Source: ModernMedicine.com)

For Julie Baird, the decision to get a tattoo of a fish on her ankle came just months after her high school graduation.

“When I got mine, I guess it was just kind of really on the front end of (tattoos) getting more and more popular,” said Mrs. Baird, of Ringgold, Ga. “And at the time, I think I probably wanted to kind of be different.”

Now, 13 years later, Mrs. Baird has changed her mind.

Coupled with her husband’s distaste for the tattoo and her desire to start a family, Mrs. Baird is having the tattoo removed through laser treatments at the Aesthetic Laser Medical Spa & Salon on Shallowford Road.

“It’s one of those things where I guess if it were just me, I probably wouldn’t have a problem with keeping it,” said Mrs. Baird. “But it’s kind of more — and I don’t want to say that I’m doing it for the people around me — but you don’t really realize how it affects maybe the people around you when you get one.”

Mrs. Baird’s case is not unusual. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, tattoo remorse is common.

Among a group of 18- to 50-year-olds surveyed in 2004, 24 percent reported having a tattoo and 17 percent of those considered getting their tattoo removed.

Aesthetician Dawn Valenzuela performs the tattoo removal laser treatments at Aesthetic Laser Medical Spa.

“(Business) is steady, but it’s not the busiest thing we do,” said Mrs. Valenzuela. “We get a steady number, and just here lately in the last six months, it has just increased. Like all of a sudden, people are wanting to get them off.”

During the tattoo removal process, a medical laser uses an intense beam of light to significantly lighten the tattoo.

“What’s going on is it is being drawn to that pigment. It picks up that color, and then when you laser it, it releases that dye into your bloodstream,” she said. “And then your body just breaks it down and gets rid of it.”

Having recently completed her second treatment, Mrs. Baird said she has seen a big difference in the fading of her tattoo.

“I’m anxious now to go back and get the third treatment because I have seen it fade a lot more after this second treatment,” she said.

REASONS FOR REMOVAL

Career: Because some employers have policies against visible tattoos in the workplace, Mrs. Valenzuela said, many clients come to her once they get a job.

Family: When Chatsworth, Ga., resident Sandy Epperson became a grandmother, she decided it was time to remove the tattoo she got on her shoulder eight years ago. “I decided that I didn’t need to look like the teenagers anymore, and I just want the grandmother look,” she said.

Cosmetic: Chattanooga resident Jan Webb said that the visibility of the blue and green cross she got tattooed on her chest nearly four years ago made it hard for her to wear certain clothes. “I just decided that maybe I had gotten it in the wrong place and maybe it was time to remove it,” she said.