Tattoos are supposed to be kept forever, but doesn’t always happen. In fact, many people decide to have their tattoos removed because they no longer like them, because the ink didn’t “age” beautifully or because they associate it with a bad memory. Contrary to common belief, laser tattoo removal is not the only option. You can also schedule a consultation for surgical tattoo removal, a quick procedure that is in many ways superior to laser tattoo removal. Here are some facts that you might want to know about this surgery and its results.
A quick procedure with clean results
The biggest downside of laser removal is that it involves a lot of painful sessions and, at the end, the area of skin is not completely clean. Traces of the old tattoo might still show. However, in the case of surgical tattoo removal, the portion of inked skin is simply cut and removed. Depending on the size of tattoo, a smaller or larger piece is taken away. Experts from Centre For Surgery place slightly curved stitches, so that the scar fades away nicely. If the tattoo to be removed is very large, then the surgeons can either perform the procedure in multiple sessions to allow the skin to heal, or they can also use skin grafting. The procedure is very quick and, because the area will be under local anaesthesia, you will not feel anything. You might experience some slight discomfort in the couple of days following surgery, but this goes away and the scar heals nicely if you care for it. To prevent it from turning into a dark colour, make sure you apply sunscreen and healing creams.
Laser vs. surgical tattoo removal
One of the reasons why people keep tattoos they regret is because they want to avoid laser as much as possible. Laser tattoo removal is not only very expensive, but also very lengthy. To remove a tattoo, you have to go to at least 2-4 sessions, that it’s just for a small one. If you have a large tattoo, such as back piece or a full sleeve, the removal process might even take up to 10 sessions. The process is very painful and the risk of burning is involved, not to mention that some parts of the tattoo might still be visible. Surgical tattoo removal, on the other hand, is not painful and usually requires only one session. Even though you will be left with a scar, the surgery will heal completely in a few months and the skin will look good as new, provided that you care for it.
The risk of complications is very low and, as long as you do not take aspirin or blood thinners before the surgery, you will be fine. Like any surgical intervention, there is always the risk of infection, but this can be eliminated if you look after the treated area and make sure it is always clean.
