Honolulu Star-Advertiser
April 22, 2013
by NADINE KAM
There’s new technology available to quicken the pace of tattoo removal. InkOff.MD’s W.Y. Chung, M.D. says PicoSure laser technology renders all previous lasers obsolete.
The doctor is the first to bring the FDA-approved PicoSure laser to Hawaii, one of only three centers in the nation to have the device that halves treatment time and removes difficult colors like blues and greens.
It’s a godsend for those whose job prospects have been limited by the one- to two-year period it can take to remove a tattoo. With the PicoSure, Chung said most patients will see up to 75 percent of a tattoo removed in their first visit, and complete removal in three or four treatments in the course of three or four months, vs. 10 treatments over one to two years for a typical 6-square-inch bicep tattoo.
The device uses pulse duration, or pressure waves to break up the ink into smaller particles than previous lasers, with less heat, so patients feel less discomfort. The analogy given is comparing old ink size to pebbles, and new ink size to sand, which enables the body to flush it more rapidly.
The doctor gave a quick 8-minute demonstration of a patient’s first treatment on April 16.
