Page 45 - An Introduction to Laser Tattoo Removal

Chapter 2 – Fundamentals of Laser Tattoo Removal v1.0
NEVER try to remove a tattoo using an IPL system!! They simply cannot generate sufficient power density to do the job properly. Click here to see the awful results that this might produce.
How to treat a tattoo properly...
When treating a new tattoo , consideration must be given to the fact that some of the ink will be near the skin surface – perhaps just below the epidermis. For this reason, we only need to apply a relatively low fluence (energy density).
The recommended way to approach this is to set your laser at a very low fluence, say 0.5 to 1 J/cm2. Fire a couple of shots at the dark ink first and look for any changes. These may be quite subtle at such a low fluence. You are looking for any colour change – usually a very slight lightening or a little ‘greying’, or a textural change. This indicates that a reaction has occurred on the ink particle surfaces.
Figure 20: This area has been treated with a very low fluence from a QS Nd:YAG laser at 1064nm. There is no obvious frosting, but you can clearly see textural changes indicating that there has been a reaction in the ink.
However, you should consider that some ink colours do not appear to respond much to laser energy. This does not mean that nothing has happened. In some cases, you may need to wait for a few minutes and look for some reddening (erythema) in the skin around the treatment area, and/or some swelling (oedema) over the tattoo. These are the tissue’s reactions to the changes induced by the laser interacting with the ink – they may be subtle and take some time to appear. But these changes indicate that the ink has definitely reacted to the laser energy. You can then proceed with the rest of the treatment using this fluence. By using this approach you are less likely to induce unwanted scar formation.
If nothing is obvious after a few minutes, then increase the fluence by 0.5 J/cm2. Fire a couple more shots and again look for some change. Keep increasing the fluence by 0.5 J/cm2
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Chapter 2 LEVEL A Laser Tattoo Removal
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