With the overwhelming popularity of tattoos over the last ten years, the market for effective removal has exploded. Tattoos are created by injecting colored pigment into small deep holes made in the skin. Regardless of whether a tattoo artist or an untrained individual injects the pigment, the marks or designs are relatively permanent.
When people subsequently want their tattoos removed, most physicians today consider laser surgery one of the best methods. The Q-switched Nd:YAG is the most frequently used laser for tattoo removal. During treatment, pulses of light from the laser are directed onto the tattoo, breaking up the tattoo pigment.
Over the next several weeks the body's macrophages remove the treated pigmented areas. With the Q-switched Nd:YAG laseravailable on the Harmony®XL laser system, you can effectively treat dark tattoo inks, specifically black (which accounts for more than half of all tattoos), blue and green.
Patients should expect to come back for several treatments to achieve expected results.