Press releases

Released March 17, 1997
Yale-New Haven Hospital news release

YNHH doctors use lasers to remove
unwanted tattoos

Tattoos are not just being put on, they are also being taken off.

Doctors at Yale-New Haven Hospital are using ruby lasers--the same process used to remove age spots--to erase tattoos in people who have had a change of heart about their body decorations.

"Patients will seek removal of a tattoo because they are getting a new job and the tattoo is visible and wouldn't be appropriate for that job. Or the tattoo may have on it the name of someone whom they'd rather forget," said David J. Leffell, MD, director of the Yale-New Haven Dermatologic Surgery and Laser Unit, which treats 50 to 60 patients each month for removal of tattoos.

The red light of a ruby laser is absorbed by the many colors used for a tattoo--brown, black, blue-black, yellow and green. The laser breaks down the dye into clumps of pigmentation, which are then biologically digested by the body's own cells.

"It's a slow process which takes two months between treatments," Dr. Leffell explains. "In the beginning it may look like nothing is happening, but by the fourth treatment you begin to see fading. Some patients and different tattoos respond faster than others."

Dr. Leffell said that in addition to job concerns and changes of heart, patients seeking removal of a tattoo may have decided that the tattoo was put on impulsively, often when thinking was not too clear. "Usually they recognized it was not a premeditated decision and they regret it," he said.

"I've had these tattoos for many years," said a patient with large, decorative tattoos on both arms. "I just wanted to be rid of them once and for all."

The process of removing a tattoo is relatively painless, without the need for anesthesia, according to Dr. Leffell. "The laser flash is about the size of a pencil eraser and it feels like a hot grease splatter," he said. "Right after the treatment, the area is a little fragile and you keep it covered with an antibiotic ointment. In about five days, it heals over."

The ruby laser is also helpful in removing traumatic tattoos such as those from gravel, lead pencils and gun powder, he added.

From what areas of the body are decorative tattoos being removed? "Everywhere," Dr. Leffell answered. "We also have been seeing an increasing number of teenagers coming in because they have gone and had a tattoo put on and their parents don't like it."

Removal of a tattoo costs $250-$300 per treatment, depending on the size of the tattoo, and since it is a cosmetic procedure and not medically necessary, insurance plans do not cover the costs, Dr. Leffell said.

The Yale-New Haven Dermatologic Laser Unit began using lasers in 1988 and is the only full-time laser center in the New Haven area. In addition to the ruby laser, the unit also has a pulsed dye laser, which is used to remove port wine stains (birthmarks) and broken blood vessels, and an ultra-pulse carbon dioxide laser, used to remove fine lines and wrinkles for facial rejuvenation.

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