Surgical Tattoo Removal – Drastic or Reasonable?
We’ve all made decisions in our lives that we’ve regretted and some of these decisions have had a much longer term impact than we initially anticipated. Getting a tattoo is one of those mistakes that you may be reminded of on a daily basis. Perhaps when you take a glance at your arm or the lower extremity of your leg memories from the past surge in your head, some which would rather wish remained forgotten. While a tattoo concealer product surely does the trick, it can be a pain to have to constantly reapply. Even quality products like Dermablend are susceptible to fading throughout the day from constant contact and whatnot, so they are a temporary solution at best.
Two of the most popular options for tattoo removal are skin peels and laser treatments. The former approach makes use of agents like trichloroacetic acid that help shed the outer layers of the skin, thus causing the tattoo to fade gradually. Skin peels might be confused with bleaching treatments, which instead modify the pigment of the tattoo to make it less noticeable. No skin turnover takes place with these products, which often contain hydroquinone. Laser treatments work in a similar fashion by concentrating intense bursts of light into the tattoo, allowing the ink pigment within the skin to disintegrate. Eventually, the body is able to dispose of the pigment.
All of these treatments have one central downside, that being that treatment often prolongs for several months. A single treatment is rarely enough to remove every possible trace of the tattoo, so patients have to splurge as much as $1,000 per session for maximum benefit.
One of the lesser known forms of tattoo removal is known as excision. This is a surgical form of tattoo removal that entails the removal of the skin to which the tattoo has been adhered to. Following removal, the surgeon stitches the area in preparation for the healing phase. The excision procedure is best reserved for small tattoos, since there is a significant risk for scarring. Unlike with the other procedures, the tattoo will be completely eradicated once the surgery is complete. That means no follow up appointments or frustration that the removal didn’t work out as you had hoped.
The cost of excision is comparatively reasonable. You can expect to pay upwards of $1,000 for smaller tattoos, and considerably more for anything bigger (these might require a skin graft to compensate for the skin that was removed). Always conduct research on the surgeon(s) you are considering – finding a doctor is not a matter of bargain hunting. Be sure to consider the alternative options as well, as your tattoo may be far too small to justify such drastic intervention.