Removing Bad Memories
By: Chris Millan
You’ve just met the love of your life. This person is perfect in every way and you just have to immortalize your love by tattooing his/her name on your body. Then you sober up and wonder, “who the heck is Tina?” The web site www.sciencedaily.com estimates that about half of the approximately 40 million Americas who have tattoos eventually consider removing them. “Bad memories,” says Dr. Leonardo Rasi, when asked why, “names are the most common.” Dr. Rasi is the co-founder of Senza Medical Corporation the Inland Empire’s premier clinic for laser tattoo removal, and he specializes in taking away regrets.
Obviously, a tattoo is applied with a needle so that it can puncture the epidermis (the upper layer of the skin.) The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis, and this is where the needle punctures a hole and fills it with ink. This ensures that the tattoo doesn’t come off when the upper layer is shed. But even if you are the unfortunate person stamped with an unwanted moniker or a tribal tattoo that has nothing to do with your upbringing, the process for removing a tattoo is more difficult than most think. Laser has become the most common method of removal, but it isn’t the only one—in fact there are several methods. Salabrasion is the oldest method and entails covering the tattoo with a salt-water solution and abrading (read: scraping) with a blunt object. Excision is the surgical removal of the skin. Dermabrasion freezes the skin and uses a rotary device to essentially “sand” off the skin where the tattoo is. Which brings us back to the laser. Laser removal doesn’t leave the sizeable scars that the other methods might. Using a Q-switched Ruby laser does sometimes leave burns and blisters, but these heal in time. Note: When you have a tattoo removed, regardless of the method, it hurts far more than it did getting it put on.
“We’ve gotten everyone through it,” says Dr. Rasi. “We use cold air and ice—it hurts, but it’s very fast.” One session of laser removal for an average sized tattoo (such as a name) usually takes under a minute. Easy, right? Remember, it takes 10 to 15 sessions with the laser to get the desired results, so all told perhaps fifteen excruciating minutes to wipe away bad memories. The good news? “Anything can be removed eventually,” says Dr. Rasi. (Chris Millan)
Senza Medical Corporation, 226 Nordina Street, Redlands, (909) 793-3563; for a consultation and rates visit www.senzamedical.com
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