title: Tattoo removal--state of the art.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Laserklinik Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pfirrmann
authors.forename: Syrus
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karsai
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hammes
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raulin
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000639:trends*; D013653:Tattooing / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*