Role of the alexandrite laser for removal of tattoos

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The development of the Alexandrite laser for the removal of blue-black tattoos is described. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: The responses of an animal study, using professionally tattooed skin and a human study involving 22 (professional and nonprofessional) blue-black tattoos, to the Alexandrite laser are reported. RESULTS: Histopathologic evaluation of tattooed pig skin biopsies demonstrated the method of removal of dermal tattoo pigment. An average 11.6 treatments were required to remove completely the ten human blue-black professional tattoos compared to an average of 10.3 treatments to reach the same endpoint in six subjects with nonprofessional tattoos. CONCLUSION: Of significance was the fact that unlike the Q-switched Ruby and Nd:YAG lasers where punctate bleeding and tissue splattering have been reported to occur during laser tattoo removal, epidermal integrity was maintained during exposure of tattooed skin to the Q-switched Alexandrite laser at therapeutic fluences used.