Dubai clinic offers to help banish tattoo regret with latest laser solution

Dr Hamid Taghaddos from Dubai Medical Village talks about bringing the first PicoSure Laser machine to the UAE, which promises to be a cheaper and more effective method of removing tattoos.

Dr Hamid Taghaddos using the PicoSure Laser for removing a tattoo. Courtesy Medical Village
Powered by automated translation

No matter how good of an idea it seemed at the time, some people who get tattoos can come down with a serious case of regret.

Whether that regret could be addressed was usually up to how much pain the person was ­willing to put up with: the process of extracting the dye from the skin has traditionally been a painful, time-consuming process that usually left scarring in its wake.

While tattoos are forbidden in Islam by virtue of a fatwa issued by the Official Fatwa Centre at the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, ­because they are seen as self-harm, the UAE has many cases of people wanting to get rid of permanent body art.

Now they have a cheaper, less painful and potentially quicker option. At Dubai Medical Village on Jumeirah Beach Road, surgeon and founder Dr Hamid Taghaddos presides over the PicoSure Laser machine, one of the first in the Middle East. Acquired earlier this year and renowned for its effectiveness in efficient body art removal with minimal pain, it promises to clear tattoos with fewer treatment sessions and without damaging the top layer of skin.

The laser works by tearing the ink into small fragments so that it can be broken down by the body and then absorbed naturally. A shorter recovery time and a decreased possibility of scarring are key.

“It’s the best and most ­effective way for tattoo removal, but you can also use it for various non-surgical and cosmetic procedures, such as removing ­unwanted pigmentation on the body, such as ageing spots on the back of the hands or acne pits on the face,” says Taghaddos adding that PicoSure has a parallel effect in that it can also create collagen, Dr Taghaddos. “It can also be used to reduce open pores.”

How popular is tattoo ­removal via laser in the UAE?

Because our machine is so new, people are still not familiar with it and all it can do. They only find out about it when they research tattoo removal. But we get dozens of patients ­weekly. Lately, we have been getting female customers who are not happy with their eyebrow tattoos, or the tattoos they got on their eyelash line as eyeliner or on the lips as lip liner. People should know before deciding to get a ­tattoo that there is no way to remove it 100 per cent; people should ­educate themselves. As far as I know, everyone ends up regretting getting a tattoo, and wishing they can remove it.

What are the side effects of PicoSure, if any? How does the skin feel afterwards?

So far we don’t have any reported side effects from PicoSure, no skin problems. Most people are worried about scar tissue but there is nothing like that, unlike older methods of tattoo removal. The most we’ve ever had is some fading of the skin on the tattoo site. Of course, side effects could happen, we can’t give guarantees to patients that there is 100 per cent no side ­effects, but up till now, no ­unwanted reactions at all.

How effective is the PicoSure Laser in tattoo removal on a scale of 1 to 10?

It’s FDA-approved for tattoo removal as well as the reduction of skin pigmentation and acne scars. On a scale of 1 to 10, patient satisfaction for common tattoo removal is usually 7. Darker skin is always easier and yields better results, with rarely any side effects.

What would you say your biggest volume of work comes from?

They come to us mainly for ­tattoo removal. They also come to our clinic for removing moles, for hair removal and for treating acne scars.

What would be the cost per session?

It honestly ­depends. If you have one inch of tattoo, like a shape of a butterfly or the site of the tattoo is equivalent to the size of a one-dirham coin, it can cost around Dh1,000 per session, but it all varies and there is no fixed cost. There is no set number of sessions either – it depends on your skin colour, the colour of the tattoo, how big it is, and so on.

How many sessions are needed on average?

Again, it depends on many ­factors. What part of the body is the tattoo located on, what kind of tattoo is it, because the ink that is used is different ­worldwide. The colour of the ­tattoo also makes a difference: some colours have a good ­response and some less, and we have all-colour removal ­options, too. With ­PicoSure, ­sometimes you have good results in two or three sessions, but other times you might need up to 10. It ­differs from ­person to ­person. For a tattoo that is the size of a dirham, a session is usually three minutes long.

Would it make a difference if someone is trying to remove a new tattoo versus an old one?

Absolutely no difference.

• For more information, call 04 346 9999 or visit www.medicalvillage.ae

In the past, people have resorted to extreme measures to get rid of their tattoos. Here are the alternate options:

Rejuvi

This cream can be injected into the skin using a micro-­pigmentation gun, similar to how ink is injected into the top layers of the epidermis to create a tattoo. Pigmented cells absorb the Rejuvi, which bonds with the pigment to soften the ink and push it to the surface of the skin, where a scab forms. When the scab falls off after six to eight weeks, the tattoo’s ink goes with it.

Resurfacing

Skin peeling acid or dermabrasion, which involves freezing the skin, then sloughing, scraping or sanding off the tattoo with a rotary tool, has also been used to remove tattoos. In salabrasion, a salt solution is rubbed into the skin, then heated and scraped away. However, both methods can lead to excessive scarring and sometimes even require a skin graft.

Cryosurgery

Sometimes called cryotherapy, this procedure freeze-burns the tattooed skin with liquid nitrogen, which is commonly used to treat warts and other skin lesions.

Surgery

Some tattoos, especially those that are too deep to be treated with laser, can be surgically removed. The tattooed skin is cut out and the surrounding skin is sewed back together. This method works for tiny tattoos, but a scar is inevitable.

Traditional laser

This has been the most popular method of tattoo removal for years; there are several types of lasers out there that work as light-based, prescription devices for tattoo lightening or removal. Laser treatment breaks up the tattoo pigment in the skin, flushing the particles away through the immune system.

artslife@thenational.ae