Tattoo Removal Take Leap Forward – Cincinnati Enquirer

 

Published in the Cincinnati ENQUIRER on Monday December 29, 2015

Here is the original link:  http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/12/28/tattoo-removal-takes-laser-leap-forward/20988211/

Tattoo removal takes a laser leap forward

Anne Saker, asaker@enquirer.com 11:59 p.m. EST December 28, 2014

Dr. Jon Mendelsohn, a Norwood plastic surgeon, became intrigued by a new super-fast laser that promises to remove tattoos faster and more thoroughly. As in everything else, the technology of tattoo removal advances, which is giving Joel Hern of Terrace Park an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of his 6-year-old son.

“The tipping point for me was when my son noticed it and started asking how I got it, why I got it,” said Hern, 35, running his right hand over his left upper arm. “I didn’t have good answers for him. Then he said, ‘I don’t like it,’ and that was it.”

Hern is among the pioneers in tattoo removal as a patient of Dr. Jon Mendelson. This year, after studying the phenomenon of tattoos, the Norwood plastic surgeon (https://351face.com/) took the $295,000 plunge to be the first in the area to offer the PicoSure (http://picosure.com/) laser. The device promises to be faster, less likely to damage skin and more thorough in erasing that youthful indiscretion.

Until now, Mendelson said, his practice focused on standard cosmetic surgery, facelifts, chin tucks, Botox injections. Though potential customers had called to inquire, he had not considered adding tattoo removal to his menu of services.

But the market for removal could be growing. Millennials by the millions have embraced the tattoo culture and dimmed the stigma of skin art, turning it from outlaw to mainstream. But as they age, the question of removal looms.

“When people hit their 30s, and now they’re in the workforce or they’re having children, suddenly the stigma matters,” Mendelsohn said.

Joel Hern of Terrace Park receives a tattoo removal laser treatment (above) from Norwood plastic surgeon Jon Mendelsohn. Hern got the tattoo in his 20s, but as a sales rep for a medical device company as well as a father, he believed it didn’t match the image he wanted to project.

This summer, Mendelsohn came across an article about a new laser that delivered pulses in picoseconds, or one trillionth of a second, a significant advance. A trillionth of a second is to a second as a second is to 31,700 years. The utility of such speed is that the laser can treat the ink of a tattoo like a jackhammer on rock, breaking it into bits that the body can process and flush away.

 

The left arm of Joel Hern before undergoing laser removal.

PicoSure’s manufacturer, Cynosure (http://www.cynosure.com/) of Westford, Massachusetts, said its device could remove tattoos with fewer applications, than older lasers, which required repeated applications that did not work well on certain colors and often damaged the skin.

Intrigued by the potential of the new tool, Mendelsohn started studying tattoos. “I realized that I didn’t really understand tattoos. What I did know was that the technology to remove them didn’t really work.”

Mendelsohn talked to tattoo artists around town to learn about the art, even sitting in on inkings with James Dryerowner of Asylum Tattoo (http://www.asylumtattoo.com/) in Mount Lookout and Latonia.

“It used to be that the removing laser was like a zap, and if the person operating the laser wasn’t experiencedwith it, they could cause scarring, and you’re not even going to get rid of the tattoo,” Dryer said. “Then youdamage the skin and put someone at a higher risk for skin cancer.”

At tattoo conventions, where laser companies offer removals on the spot as demonstrations, Dryer has watchedthe technology improve, and he’s impressed with the PicoSure. “It’s a brand-new version, and we still have towait and see, but it looks very good from what I’m seeing right now.”

Mendelsohn has removed tattoos on about 60 to 70 patients so far. Removal takes between one and 12sessions, each six weeks apart, depending on the color combination and the acreage of the tattoo. The price for removal, on average, is between $1,200 and $1,800, Mendelsohn said.

“This is one of the most exciting things I’ve done in my practice,” he said.

Vanessa Hinsdale assists (above) in use of the PicoSure laser to remove Hern’s tattoo. The Advanced Cosmetic Surgery & Laser Center is the first in the Cincinnati area to have the device.

‘No longer wanted the stigma around’

Thirteen years ago, Joel Hern was fresh out of Bowling Green State University and deeply involved in skateboarding. The sport “has a culture that lends itself to tattoos,” Hern said. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

An artist in Mason wrapped Hern’s upper left arm from deltoid almost to the elbow, around the biceps and triceps, with a Polynesian pattern with patches deeply inked in black. It cost $800, took two sessions of five hours each and, “absolutely” it hurt.

Hern got a job as a medical-supply salesman, which often meant traveling to medical conventions in sunny locales, where he would end up poolside with doctors, who all remarked on his ink. Sometimes Hern wouldn’t remove his shirt because “I’d rather not be a talking point.”

Employment plus marriage were two pressures for removal, but the biggest factor was the arrival of his son. As Hern’s boy grew, he asked about the tattoo, and when he finally expressed his dislike, Hern decided the time had come to act.

“For me, it’s a maturity thing,” he said. “I’m a more seasoned professional now, and a father. Tattoos tend to carry a stigma, and I no longer wanted that stigma around.”

Hern heard Mendelsohn on a radio program talking about his new PicoSure laser, and Hern signed up. Because of the size of his tattoo and its dark inking, he is spending about $2,200 on removal. After six treatments, the tattoo is noticeably lighter, and Mendelsohn believes he will remove it all.

“My son has noticed that it’s going away,” Hern said, “and he’s pretty happy about that.”

 

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