Clearance of facial tattoo with triple-wavelength picosecond laser and fractionated carbon dioxide laser

Abstract

A 34-year-old Hispanic woman presented to our clinic with a 2-week history of facial tattoo with the aim of recreating the appearance of "freckles" on her face. The patient was distressed and mentioned negative impacts on personal and professional relationships. At examination, multiple small, hyperpigmented, brownish macules were noted concordant with polychromatic professional facial tattoo with the presence of a moderate amount of reddish-brown ink ( Figure 1). Therefore, triple-wavelength picosecond laser in combination with fractionated laser seems to be a safe and effective therapeutic approach in a dark-skinned patient with a tattoo localized in a cosmetically relevant area. FUNDING INFORMATIONThis study has no funding source. The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the information presented.

The Picosecond Laser Effects on Tattoo Removal and Metabolic Pathways

“…Q-switched laser treatment of tattoos has gradually become the gold standard. 2 Although the selective thermal effect of Q-switched laser has good advantages in breaking pigments and reducing skin damage, there are still unsolved issues, such as long treatment intervals, multiple treatments, residual tattoo pigments and contours, and scars after treatment. 3 Q-switched Nd-YAG 1064 nm laser was based upon the theory of selective photothermal effect, and only melanin and black pigment were its target, while it was unable to remove professional tattoo dyes, such as red and green.…”