Outpatient management protocol of skin tattoos with simple chemo/dermabrasion technique.

Abstract

As the incidence of tattoo placement continues to increase, so does the demand for tattoo removal. We present our clinical experience on cosmetic tattoo removal and the important issues practitioners should consider in the management of tattoos. Treatment of tattoos with various different methods often yields unsatisfactory results and are costly to the patients. Ideal method should be highly effective for removal of tattoos without significant scars or permanent pigmentary change to the skin. We have established a cost effective management protocol that could be followed and performed as an outpatient. This protocol consist of three parts, preoperative skin preparation utilizing Retin A, secondly an operative surgical procedure of simple dermabrasion followed by a third stage of intensive postoperative skin care protocol with local application of anti-scar formation ointments. The therapeutic protocol was successful with a high rate of tattoos removal and less incidence of hypetrophic scar formation of the treated skin.

Keywords: Tattoos, Dermabrasion, Tretinoin, Contractubex

Sudanese Journal of Dermatology Vol. 5 (1) 2007: pp. 1-5