ACPS Featured in The Houston Chronicle: Tattoo Removal

The Houston Chronicle featured an interview with plastic surgeon Dr. Paul Fortes of The Aesthetic Center for Plastic Surgery in the article, "Laser tattoo removal may need more than 1 visit."

Kim Morgan reported and wrote the story, which appeared in The Chronicle's Health pullout section. It explained that the many colors typically used in tattoos can require numerous treatments for full removal.

Laser tattoo removal is hot business these days, so much so that Dr. Paul Fortes at the Aesthetic Center for Plastic Surgery dedicates one Friday a month to nothing but that.

 

It can be a long journey to complete tattoo removal, he said, with five or more treatments spaced at least one month apart.

 

"The pigment in the skin is literally broken up by the absorption of the laser light," Fortes said. "Once it's broken up, those pigment particles are gobbled up by little scavenger cells that live in the skin and are part of our immune system."

 

Only one color can be treated at a time, Fortes said. But even if your tattoo is just black, you might end up discovering that black is not always what it seems.

• 17 percent of people who have tattoos want to have them removed
• 36 percent of people aged 18-29 have tattoos
• 24 percent of people aged 30-40 have tattoos
• 15 percent of people aged 40-50 have tattoos

• Q-switched Nd-YAG laser can treat black or dark blue very well in fewer sessions. It is less likely to cause skin pigment changes in darker-skinned patient.
• Q-switched Alexandrite laser is good in removing light blue and green, but less effective with yellow or red.
• Flashlamp-pumped Pulsed Dye Laser is better than other lasers in treating red and can sometimes treat purple, orange or yellow.
• Q-switched Ruby laser is an older laser that can treat many colors but requires many sessions and can result in texture or pigment skin changes.