What Is the Process for Laser Tattoo Removal?
If you have a tattoo that you’re not happy with, you no longer have to be stuck with it. Thanks to laser tattoo removal, your skin can look as though you never had a tattoo in the first place. What exactly is this process and how does it work? We’ll attempt to answer these questions and others.
What Is The Process For Laser Tattoo Removal?
This process sees the pigments of a tattoo being broken up by high-intensity laser light. There are several different kinds of removal technology, each with their own risks, benefits, and tattoo removal costs. Typically, several sessions are required.
How Laser Surgery Works
During a tattoo removal session, the surgeon guides the laser so that it passes over the area of tattooed skin. Laser energy enters the skin in pulses, and the ink in the skin absorbs this energy. In most methods of tattoo removal, heating occurs to the point that the ink is broken into tiny particles, which are then flushed from the body.
PicoSure® Laser Tattoo Removal
PicoSure® is a way to remove tattoos using laser light. However, unlike other methods that use heat to break up ink particles, PicoSure® uses vibration. Why is this important? Because other methods that break up ink particles using heat also cause burning and damage to the surrounding skin.
PicoSure® uses something called PressureWave technology to deliver pulses of energy through a picosecond laser. The pulses are delivered in such rapid succession that it causes ink particles to vibrate and shatter.
What You Can Expect During a Tattoo Removal Session
The majority of removal options are done as outpatient cosmetic procedures; you are given local anesthesia in a surgeon’s office, where the procedure is performed.
What to expect after a session depends on the type of tattoo removal technology that’s being used. For example, treatment with a Q-switched laser can cause swelling, blistering, and bleeding after each treatment. Surgical tattoo removal requires stitching and is highly likely to leave a scar.
Both of the above options often require antibacterial ointment to promote healing, which can take several weeks. The PicoSure® method, however, causes far less discomfort than getting a tattoo, patients say.
The long-term risks of some options include incomplete removal, infection risk, lost pigment at the removal site, and even darkening of some tattoos. However, most PicoSure® patients have experienced only minimal redness at the site, which fades in a few hours following treatment.
Deciding if Tattoo Removal Surgery Is Right for You
Many people choose a tattoo removal service because they regret getting theirs. Tattoos can also become blurry or faded over time, which is another reason for removal. Regardless of your reasons for wanting to remove a tattoo, it’s important you choose an experienced surgeon.
Dr. Peter H. Grossman is a nationally acclaimed, board-certified plastic surgeon with several years of experience in tattoo removal and PicoSure® technology. To learn more about the benefits of tattoo removal using the PicoSure® method, call Grossman Plastic Surgery today: (818) 981-2050.