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Tattoo removal – state of the art
Author(s) -
Pfirrmann Gudrun,
Karsai Syrus,
Roos Susanne,
Hammes Stefan,
Raulin Christian
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
jddg: journal der deutschen dermatologischen gesellschaft
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.463
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1610-0387
pISSN - 1610-0379
DOI - 10.1111/j.1610-0387.2007.06405.x
Subject(s) - laser , neodymium , ruby laser , nanosecond , yttrium , materials science , pulse (music) , optics , intense pulsed light , computer science , optoelectronics , dermatology , medicine , telecommunications , physics , detector , metallurgy , oxide
Summary Tattooing has been around since the early beginnings of modern civilization. The discovery of selective photothermolysis at last has made it possible to remove tattoos without leaving a scar. Q‐switched neodymium: yttrium‐aluminum‐garnet, alexandrite, and ruby lasers with pulse durations in the nanosecond domain fulfill this need. Argon or cw‐CO 2 lasers as well as intense pulsed light sources should not be used since they often produce significant scarring. This article provides an overview of current laser systems.Developments leading to new tattoo inks, feedback systems to detect the absorbance characteristics of tattoo inks, dermal clearing agents, and perhaps even lasers with shorter pulse‐durations might improve the results in the future.