A novel titanium sapphire picosecond‐domain laser safely and effectively removes purple, blue, and green tattoo inks

Abstract

BackgroundGreen, blue, and purple tattoo pigments are often the colors most resistant to laser removal. Recently, the first ever production picosecond‐domain laser with a 785 nm wavelength was developed to improve the rate of clearance of green, blue, and purple tattoo inks.MethodsTwenty‐two tattoos from 15 subjects with skin phototypes II–IV were enrolled in the study. A total of four treatments were administered using a single 785 nm picosecond‐domain laser wavelength. Blinded assessment of digital, cross‐polarized photographs taken approximately 8 weeks following the last treatment was performed using an 11‐point clearance scale.ResultsFourteen subjects with 21 tattoos completed all study visits. The 21 tattoos contained the following pigments: black (n = 15), green (n = 13), blue (n = 8), yellow (n = 5), purple (n = 4), and red (n = 3). Treatments were performed with a 2‐4‐mm beam diameter and fluences ranging from 1.1 to 3.1 J/cm2. Blinded assessment of photographs found 85%, 81%, 74%, 61%, 11%, and 5% clearance from baseline photos for purple, blue, green, black, red, and yellow pigments, respectively. Treatments were well tolerated with typical erythema, edema and one case of pinpoint bleeding. No scarring was noted.ConclusionThis first study of a new 785 nm picosecond‐domain laser demonstrates safe and effective removal of multicolor tattoos. Although clearance was shown for a multitude of colors including black, the 785 nm laser wavelength has special affinity to purple, blue and green tattoo pigments. Lasers Surg. Med. 50:704–710, 2018. © 2018 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Systematic Review of Picosecond Laser in Dermatology: Evidence and Recommendations

“…Once again, the picosecond pulse significantly outperformed the nanosecond pulse. Currently, lasers with true picosecond pulse durations have been developed at wavelengths of 532, 730, 755, 785, and 1064 nm and have all been reported as effective at clearing almost every color of tattoo ink as well as paradoxical darkening of tattoo [77,[79][80][81][82]85,96]. A systematic review was published in 2016 analyzing the safety and efficacy of picosecond lasers for tattoo removal, and the general consensus is that they work very well and have a high degree of safety and tolerability [97,98].…”

The First Commercial 730 nm Picosecond‐Domain Laser is Safe and Effective for Treating Multicolor Tattoos

“…The primary 1,064 nm wavelength is optimized for removing black ink and would be used for treating it by most laser operators; although, in the current study the 730 nm laser was effective at removing black ink as well, removing on average 70% of black pigment in four treatments as evaluated by blinded scoring of cross‐polarized images. Previously we reported on a Ti:sapphire 785 nm, 300 picoseconds pulse duration, laser‐pumped‐laser handpiece used with the same picosecond‐domain, 1,064 nm laser system used in the current study [17]. The current laser system emits at a significantly shorter wavelength, 730 nm, and would be expected to be more effective at removing brown spots such as freckles and lentigenes at equivalent fluences.…”

“…The newest additions to the armamentarium aimed at removing unwanted tattoos are the commercial picoseconddomain lasers [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. The first of these lasers was an alexandrite laser having a pulse duration of approximately 0.5 nanoseconds [11][12][13].…”

“…In the case of a picosecond-domain laser with the primary wavelength at 1,064 nm, the secondary wavelengths would be 532 nm which would be used to pump tertiary wavelengths in the 700 nm range to target green, blue, or purple inks. Such wavelengths include the 755 nm alexandrite laser and the 785 nm titanium-sapphire (Ti:sapphire) laser [17]. The 785 nm laser-pumped laser in a removable handpiece cartridge was shown to effectively remove blue, green, and purple inks, as well as showing efficacy for removing unwanted pigmentation.…”

Efficient Picosecond Laser for Tattoo Removal in Rat Models

“…In addition, due to short pulse width and low energy density, the tissue damage around the target base is minimized using a picosecond laser, which improves the curative effect and reduces the adverse reactions [ 4 ]. The picosecond laser has distinct advantages in eliminating tattoos, especially stubborn tattoos and intractable yellow tattoos [ 5 – 7 ]. Also, the picosecond laser has good performance in light aging treatment [ 8 – 11 ].…”