Posted on October 6, 2014 by Claudio Sorrentino Are you interested in having a tattoo removed? If so, consider yourself fortunate to be living in a time when successfull tattoo removal procedures exist. It was not until the 1980s that laser surgery became on option, but there were a wide array of alternative treatments available before this.
Though effective in attaining the end result, most non-laser treatments left hideous scars or were very painful. Local anesthetics were a must, but even then, the discomfort associated with these procedures was more than most patients could handle. Since this is no longer the case and you can rest easy knowing a few minutes of painless laser tattoo removal is now all it takes for your tattoo-dissolving needs, here is a brief overview of the tattoo removal procedures of the past.
Bygone Tattoo Removal Methods
If we had to rank tattoo removal operations from most to least painful, excision would likely top the list. Armed with scalpel in hand, a surgeon would scrape the surface until the tattoo disappeared. Given the level of penetration, stitches were required to close the wound. For tattoos that covered greater surface areas, skin grafting might have been necessary as well. This was as rugged as the removal process gets, and the nasty scars left behind were not something most patients were proud of.
Another closely related yet slightly less intense procedure is known as dermabrasion. You may have heard of microdermabrasion, which is used to clean skin by stripping away very thin surface layers, but for obvious reasons, the tattoo removal operation had to go much deeper. Consistent sanding of the skin will eventually remove the tattoo, but at the cost of much discomfort on the part of the patient. Cryosurgery was yet another classic alternative that entailed freezing the tattoo and surrounding skin, followed by cutting the area free and suturing the wound.
Whichever way you look at it, modern laser tattoo removal treatments trump their historic counterparts. They can be completed in a fraction of the time and without any of the skin irritation and pain. Though multiple applications are necessary, it only takes a few minutes per session to complete. In many ways, laser technology has revolutionized the way tattoo removal is carried out.
