Tattoo removal

A wonderful achievement of laser technology is to get rid of a tattoo without causing scarring or pigment disorders. The laser that does this is called Q-Switched and has a peculiarity: its beams are ultra short, a matter of nanoseconds. The ultra short shots ensure that the heat generated by the uptake of pigment does not extend into healthy tissue and generate irreversible damage that would lead to scarring. The recent appearance of picosecond laser is waiting for the equipment cost is justified and not have this laser in Colombia. Its spectrum is better green and for all cases which have shown "mud" colors after many sessions.

 

Lasers and colors of the tattoo

If a laser expert checks the chromatic scale he will notice there are very few wavelengths antagonistic to the colors of tattoos. A few have been developed since 1995. With lasers available green and infrared lasers can fade tattoos dark colors, tones closer to red and sometimes green colored tattoos.

Cosmetic tattoos and color mutation

These tattoos placed on the eyebrows, eyelids and lips, have the unique characteristic to mutate in color spontaneously before and after laser treatment. Fortunately the mutation is to the color black, more visible to the Nd-YAG. This mutation becomes an advantage for the total elimination of the tattoo. If the patient has retained a tattoo with light colors he should expect immediate darkening which will be treated in subsequent months with more sessions.

Traumatic Tattoos

They are caused by dirt, gravel, or waste deposits in the skin often after a car accident. These can be faded with Q-switched Nd-YAG laser.

Point tattoos for coal or ink

They can be caused by pencil or markings of medical indications. They all have a very good response because its size and material used. These can clarify completely only with one session after 12 months.

Tattoos in granulation

A tattoo should never be treated in the middle of an active inflammation. The swelling will allow a great chance of pigment particles to pass into the general circulation and an anaphylactic reaction could occur, and even death if it is not treated immediately.

An example of the evolution of a tattoo removal.

It has been shown since 1978 that laser removes tattoos without causing scars or blemishes. However, these complications are often seen with Q-switched lasers. That is why tattoo features; patient and administered amount of energy must be carefully evaluated. We present a case in which we observed a higher clearance tattoo, most noticeable in intervals between sessions over 6 months. For example we presented can be seen as clearance tattoo is more noticeable in intervals between sessions over 6 months.

Sequence of 5 sessions on the left arm tattoo
Before
8 days after the first session There is no great color change
11 MONTHS AFTER THE FIRST SESSION Tattoo clearance caused by the first laser session achieves over 80% in 11 months of observation without any more sessions. The photo is taken just before the second session
7 MONTHS AFTER THE SECOND SESSION Clearance continues after 2 session to more than 90%. The photo is taken immediately before the third session
A YEAR AND A HALF AFTER THE THIRD MEETING Is achieved over 98% after the longest period of monitoring. There are still very little noticeable remains. The photo is taken immediately before the fourth session.
6 MONTHS AFTER THE FOURTH SESSION No scar generated by the procedure or pigment disorders. The scar is observed before the laser procedure.

 

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