title: Role of the Alexandrite laser for removal of tattoos.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The development of the Alexandrite laser for the removal of blue-black tattoos is described.
  
  
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts 02116, USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Stafford
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lizek
authors.forename: O T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D000818:Animals; D001608:Beryllium; D001706:Biopsy; D062109:Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D017496:Hypopigmentation / Q000209:etiology; D007281:Ink; D017075:Laser Coagulation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000528:radiation effects; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000528:radiation effects; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature; D013653:Tattooing; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D001608:Beryllium