Improved lasers make waves in tattoo removal

Nicole Payne unzipped her black leather ankle boot and revealed an image she came to find so loathsome and ugly she usually kept it covered.

It is a likeness of a bottle-nosed dolphin, measuring about 3 inches by 1-inch, tattooed in blue-black ink on the inside of her right ankle. "It is just disgusting, just gross," said Payne, 27, gazing at the tattoo.

Minutes later, Dr. Thomas Chu switched on a double YAG laser and began the first of the three or four treatments she likely will need to erase the dolphin. The entire process probably will take six to eight months.

Chu offers tattoo removal as part of his dermatological surgery practice.

Thanks to the convergence of pop culture and technology, business is booming.

In the past 25 years, tattoo professionals have watched their art form move from the fringe to the American mainstream. Now along with sailors, bikers and convicts, college students, athletes, musicians and white-collar professionals flash tattoos on their ankles and biceps and around their navels.

Dennis Dwyer, executive director of the Alliance of Professional Tattooists, estimated 10 percent to 20 percent of Americans now sport a tattoo. But his estimate came with a caveat: "It is still a somewhat secretive culture."

Where once the only removal options left behind scars as large as the unwanted tattoo, the past decade has seen the introduction of lasers specifically for tattoo removal. They use wavelengths that are absorbed by certain tattoo inks, but not the surrounding skin. The laser energy breaks the ink into smaller pieces, which gradually are removed by the body's scavenger system. Removing a professional tattoo typically takes four to six treatments six to eight weeks apart.

For patients like Payne, an administrative assistant at Financial Institution Consulting Corp. in Memphis, that typically means no scar and no tattoo.

Dr. Michael Bond, who is certified in dermatology and pediatrics, said not everyone is so lucky.

Greens, yellows, turquoise and other vibrant ink colors aren't as sensitive to the laser as blue, black and red ink are. "There may be some residual ink that doesn't come out or a ghost-like image, but it is usually much better than the tattoo itself," he said.

Permanent makeup can also be difficult to remove, Bond said. Rather than fading, the laser sometimes triggers a color change that will linger for months until removal is complete.