Tattoo Removal Effected By Smoking

Color, Size and Smoking Affect Tattoo Removal   By JENNIFER CORBETT DOOREN

Posted at http://tobaccodeathray.com

As growing numbers of people rue the tattoos they got in their youth, a new study has found that tattoo removal is less likely to succeed if the person is a smoker, the design contains colors such as blue or yellow and is larger than 12 inches.

The study is believed to be the first research that looked at several factors—which included tattoo size and location on the body—involved with successful tattoo removal, according to the researchers.

As more people rue the tattoos they got in their youth, a new study has found that tattoo removal is less likely to succeed if the skin design contains certain colors.

The standard procedure for removing tattoos currently is treatment with a laser called a Q-switched laser, or QSL, applied over a number of sessions. But the technique can lose its effectiveness depending on certain variables, according to the study, published online on Monday in the American Medical Association's Archives of Dermatology.

Smoking, for instance, can reduce by 70% the chance of successfully removing a tattoo after 10 treatment sessions.

Dermatologists have long known certain colors are easier to remove than others, but the findings on the impact of smoking on tattoo removal are new.

The research was conducted at a laser-surgery center in Milan, Italy, from 1995 through 2010. There were 352 people in the study, of which 201 were men, with a median age of 30 years old.

As many as 22% of U.S. college students have at least one tattoo, according to background information in the study, and about half of people who get tattoos later try to have them removed.

In order to remove tattoos, patients must undergo about 10 laser treatments several weeks apart. The light from the laser targets pigments in the ink of the tattoo and helps the ink break down. Over time the ink is removed through the body's lymphatic system. Each treatment costs about $200 and isn't covered by insurance.

Overall, the study found about 47% of people had their tattoos successfully removed after 10 laser treatments and it took 15 treatments to remove tattoos from 75% of patients.

Black and red pigments in tattoos were most easily removed. All-black tattoos had a 58% successful-removal rate, while tattoos with black and red pigments had a 51% success rate after 10 treatments. The presence of other colors such as greens, yellows or blues reduced the chances of effective removal of a tattoo by as much as 80%, the study found. Other factors that reduced the procedure's success included a design larger than 12 inches or one located on the feet or legs.

Karthik Krishnamurthy, director of the cosmetic dermatology clinic at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y., who wasn't involved in the study, explained that black and red inks absorb the wavelength of light emitted by the QSL laser better than other colors.

Older tattoos are harder to remove in part because the ink particles move deeper into the skin over time, the researchers said. And smoking is believed to hinder tattoo removal because smoking is known to hinder wound healing.

The researchers also found that the amount of time between QSL treatment sessions was important to the technique's success. Treatment intervals of eight weeks or less were found to be less effective for tattoo removal.

A separate study, also published in the Archives of Dermatology, however, suggests a different type of laser currently in development called a picosecond alexandrite laser, can remove tattoos with fewer treatments than the QSL laser.

The study involved 15 patients and was partly funded by Cynosure Inc., CYNO +1.44% a Westford, Mass., firm that is waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to clear its picosecond laser for marketing.

Most patients could have their tattoos removed with four or fewer treatments, said one of the study's authors, Nazanin Saedi, who was a fellow at SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, Mass., where the study was conducted. Dr. Saedi is now an assistant professor and director of laser surgery and cosmetic dermatology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Write to Jennifer Corbett Dooren at jennifer.corbett-dooren@dowjones.com

A version of this article appeared September 18, 2012, on page D2 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Color, Size and Smoking Affect Tattoo Removal.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443995604578002543545271044.html