DPK Public Relations client's recent coverage in the Houston Chronicle.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/health/5382711.html
Health & Medicine
Dec. 16, 2007, 1:57PM
Laser tattoo removal may need more than 1 visitColors can cause a spectrum of trips to the doctor
By KIM MORGAN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Laser tattoo removal is hot business these days, so much so that Dr. Paul Fortes at the Aesthetic Center for Plastic Surgery dedicates one Friday a month to nothing but that.
It can be a long journey to complete tattoo removal, he said, with five or more treatments spaced at least one month apart.
"The pigment in the skin is literally broken up by the absorption of the laser light," Fortes said. "Once it's broken up, those pigment particles are gobbled up by little scavenger cells that live in the skin and are part of our immune system."
Only one color can be treated at a time, Fortes said. But even if your tattoo is just black, you might end up discovering that black is not always what it seems.
"Tattoo artists are truly artists and they sometimes add red or blue or green to get a certain color," said Dr. Michael Kelly II, Aesthetic Surgery Center of Houston. "So sometimes as you're working on one color, you see the other color come to the surface. 'Ah, it has green in it,' you say. So we click over to green."
That's why Dr. Tue A. Dinh at the Institute for Reconstructive Surgery at The Methodist Hospital suggests you come armed with questions before committing to laser tattoo removal.
"The main thing to know is, do they have the right type of laser?" Dinh said. "Tattoo removal lasers are different than lasers used for skin resurfacing or treating spider veins. Unfortunately there are some people who have a laser and will just do it, and what happens is you burn the skin. Yes, you remove the tattoo too, but it results in a scar."
Dinh said you should ask to see photographs of typical results, and if someone tells you they can get rid of your tattoo in just a few sessions, run.
You might be tempted if you hear a tattoo can be removed in just a few treatments, because its ouch factor is about as bad as when you got the tattoo, say patients of Dr. Fortes and Dr. Kelly.
Maybe you're not sure if you want to take that step, or you don't have a few hundred bucks for each treatment but you want to cover your tattoo because you have an important job interview, or because you have a new flame who won't appreciate another person's name inked across your bicep.
For a temporary fix, try heavy-duty makeup.
Houston makeup artist Jody Miller said costume shops or theatrical stores usually carry cover-up specifically for tattoos.
"When you're covering a tattoo, you use a stippling motion by patting it on and lifting it off the area you're covering," Miller said. Then you can spray seal it so you don't sweat off all the cover-up.
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TATTOO TUTORIAL
By the numbers• 36: The percent of people aged 18-29 with tattoos.• 24: The percent of people aged 30-40 with tattoos• 15: The percent of people aged 40-50 with tattoos• 17: The percent of people who want their tattoos removedSource: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, June issue
Costs • Laser treatments: $250-$350 per session; 5-12 monthly treatments required• Cover-up: opaque foundations, $8-$12; setting spray, $4-$16
Laser 101 • Q-switched Ruby laser: older laser, can treat many colors but requires many sessions and can result in texture or pigment skin changes.• Q-switched Nd-YAG laser: can treat black or dark blue very well in fewer sessions. Less likely to cause skin pigment changes in darker-skinned patient.• Q-switched Alexandrite laser: good in removing light blue and green, less effective with yellow or red.• Flashlamp-pumped Pulsed Dye Laser: better than other lasers in treating red, can sometimes treat purple, orange or yellow.
Tattoo Q&A
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