Let’s discuss here about how to get rid of tattoos and why is it not easy along with the latest methods for improving the appearance of scarred tissue.
Is it possible to effectively get rid of unwanted tattoos?
Methods to get rid of the tattoo are many but quite frankly speaking, none of them is good, effective and without side effects. You can only get rid of the tattoo temporary throughg permanent makeup as professional tattoos made with the goal of “forever” cannot be easily removed. Patients usually go for laser surgery. However, final selection of the removal method depends on the size of the tattoo, its location, color and performance.
How does the laser work?
Laser therapy uses the phenomenon of selective photothermolysis. It is a mechanism which is based on the hypothesis that a particle under the influence of the dye is not absorbed by the energy from the beam emitted by the laser and hence, can be destroyed. The effectiveness of the treatment depends on optimal wavelength which could be the greatest and can be absorbed by a given color. It is the easiest way to remove the dark tattoos (graphite, dark blue) because these colors absorbs the waves of a very broad spectrum. The pigments absorb blue and green wavelengths of 625-755 nm and red of 575 nm. Shades of yellow contrast only slightly absorb the wavelengths generated by modern lasers which means that the yellow and orange tattoos cannot be removed by laser effectively.
Regardless of the type used for efficient laser, tattoo removal requires several sessions at the intervals of several weeks. We must also reckon with the fact that in many cases the image does not disappear, but the intensity of colors fades or even worse – it blurs the contour.
Although the current devices are able to destroy pigment without damaging the surrounding tissue, there is discoloration or stains on the spot after the tattoo or the skin may change texture and sometimes even form a scar.
If laser does not work, then what?
Excision of the tattoo can be an alternative. Surgery is used in cases in which laser therapy has failed or if the patient prefers, or has formed an extensive and well visible scar than his tattoo. Surgical method gives very good results with small tattoos, after which is there is just a small and an invisible scar. Removal of large image regardless of the method (stepwise cutting, cutting with a covering with graft loss, etc.), always leads to a large and unsightly scars.
And if how can you get rid of scars which are created after the removal of a large tattoo after healing of the wound or surgical scar?
It is not possible to completely remove the scars. They remain forever. However, you can fight for its “beauty”. In most cases, you can replace a large and ugly scar from less visible and noticeable scar, and in some cases almost invisible, and what is important, they won’t cause problems such as contractures or pain in the joints.
Another idea to fight scars is silicone gels which work like a thin plate (sheet, patch) to be worn on the scar almost the whole day (with breaks for washing) for 2-3 months. Despite the inconvenience of constantly wearing the patch is a good method because there are no side effects.
The oldest and most widely used to combat surgical scars is invasive and so, burdened with the highest risk of complications. Scalpel sometimes comes as a salvation, but is not a magic wand. Some scars – an ugly, large, poorly sewn together – can be effectively improved by excision and re-sewing. Sometimes, changing the direction of the course or part of the scar can be used.
Both techniques can change a straight line or arc shaped scar into a running zig-zag. Thanks to this treatment, surgery scar is placed in the direction of wrinkles and skin folds. Both techniques hide the scars in natural skin and give it the shape of zigzag lines (difficult to trace) mean that it becomes invisible to a very extent.
Finally, the methods discussed here, apply only to normal scars. Surgical treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids facing much greater difficulties is less efficient and burdened with a much higher risk. The re-growths of keloids or hypertrophic scars after excision are observed in most cases.
How much does it cost to remove a tattoo?
The total cost of treatment depends on the size, location and quality of the area you want to delete or correct. On an average, one session of laser therapy costs up to $500 or more. Surgical treatment to remove the image with dimensions 10×5 cm (height X width) will cost a few thousand.
Despite the disadvantages, laser therapy is now regarded as the best way to remove tattoos. Especially, the professional which – in contrast to the amateur – are relatively shallow and evenly distributed pigment in the skin.
The decision to making a tattoo is due to various reasons. At a young age, during the rebellion, the decisions are often the result of an impulse. Over the years changing surroundings and views can make one wants to remove the signs of the past. Today, the tattoo has become a form of body art without a specific meaning. It becomes worse when it ceases to please us or become a problem for your employer. Therefore, when deciding on a permanent “jewelry”, one cannot act hastily. Once a decision is taken so, you need to choose a little conspicuous place, place or a small tattoo which is easier to remove or hide. One should also avoid colored tattoos including yellow and red dyes which are very difficult to remove by laser.
Reasons why we want to get rid of the tattoo can be endless. With time, it fades away and what looked good on a young tight skin, in the future, becomes slightly distorted or stretched. Another problem is the operations and treatments that cannot be pre-planned such as appendix, hernia, or even a caesarian operation . Therefore, when choosing the place for a tattoo, one should avoid such places. The same is true for cosmetic surgery where the visual arts such as abdominal tattoo may change its location or can remove the tattoo partially.
Lasers as the safest devices
It all depends on the size and depth of the tattoo, its location, manner of carving and color used but the best method for tattoo removal is laser therapy. It involves the destruction, removal of the skin pigment particles using a laser of appropriate wavelength. Ruby lasers and Nd-yagowe type Q-switches are most used lasers and reduce the risk of scarring or complications to the minimum. Usually several sessions at intervals of 6-8 weeks are required to remove a tattoo. Depending on the size of a tattoo, a session lasts from 10 to 60 minutes. But keep in mind that depending on the type of dyes used in tattooing and the depth at which they are introduced (the deeper the harder to remove them) only the intensity of color can be reduced or contours can be blurred.
Use of the laser Q-switch requires local anesthesia, sometimes in the form of ointments or injection. During treatment, the dye is absorbed by the body’s immune system which can be observed by the fading of tattoo. After the session, the tattoo should be lubricated with antiseptic cream. Wound healing takes a few to several days. Almost after every surgery to remove a tattoo, temporary stains, discoloration, and changes in the texture of the skin may occur which in most cases disappear.
Or maybe surgery?
Other methods of tattoo removal are
Mechanical dermabrasion which involves the removal of the superficial layers of the skin along with the dye with rotating brushes or abrasive diamond head. Tattoos, in this case is not completely removed. Surgical tattoo removal or excision gives the best results in cases of small tattoos. For large surfaces, regardless of the method (stepwise cutting, cutting with a covering loss or by lobe graft after excision of skin stretch) deletion always leads to the formation of extensive scars which in most cases are unsightly.
There are also unprofessional “home” methods of how to remove tattoos. For example, the use of salabrazji or sodium chloride commonly known as table salt which actually leads to the high risk of incomplete removal and scarring. Some people also use solutions of weak acids which generally leave a visible scar. These methods are not applicable in practice aesthetic medicine.
Tattoo Removal Side Effects
Complete healing of the place of the tattoo lasts from one to three years. – Laser removal may be accompanied by side effects in the form of scars, keloids, bacterial infections, allergies, and herpes uprising. Despite the progress made in aesthetic medicine, removing tattoos without leaving permanent scars on the skin, in many cases is impossible. In order to prevent the development of keloid, KTP laser is used which effectively inhibits the formation of blood vessels in the scar and its overgrowth. Overall, the tattoo removal procedure is less painful.
Word tattoo is derived from the term Tatau which in Tahitian means inflicted wounds. It is better not to do a tattoo on impulse or with the name of this one person because these could not be modified later to another. Fortunately, aesthetic medicine gives us the opportunity to get rid of unwanted tattoo.