Any suggestions or input on tattoo removal systems or laser?

I have been using the Lutronic Spectra for years on tattoos and love it! It is a workhorse and never breaks down. This unit also works wonders on acne and is FDA approved to break up melasma. It is a 1064 Nd:YAG with both quasi long (30ms) and Q-switched (5ns) pulse choices. 4 wavelength choices include. 532,585,650,1064 to get the rainbow of colors on tattoos. Simple to use too.

medlite c6 or the revlite.
The brand name in tattoo removal.
your customers deserve the best.

I know Cynosure has a new Picosecond laser for tattoo removal, although I've had no personal experience with it.

How many treatments do you need for a little tattoo? Like a name?

The total number of removal sessions is dependent upon many factors such as: patients Fitzpatrick scale, ink colors , location, professional vs. not, layering of color, scarring, and color density. Black is the easiest and fastest to remove usually.

We do several hundred removal treatments per month and have tested lots of lasers. Q Switched nd:YAG lasers are the best way to go. Don't even think about lasers with pulse widths greater than 6-10 nano seconds or lasers with resident frequencies other than 1064. Every laser sales person and mfg website will tell you their laser is the best. So it's confusing.

I use a Q switch yag and would love to upgrade to a Quantas over the Conbio. I also hear great things about the Pico [300K] breaks up even smaller so less treatments are needed BUT blue/green still may be a problem, as it is new, I will wait for some more people to buy it an actually use it for reviews. I know some Drs are buying it so they can say they have the newest toy on the market but for that kind of $$ I can wait a bit longer.

Actually all have valid points however a standalone Q-switched Yag (1064) or Alexandrite or Ruby alone are not the end of the story. Yag treats all but green and alex all but red, Ruby similar to alex. That said they all bring something special to the table. As a manufacturer with 30+ years exp I say this not to promote my system but rather to educate so you can make a good business decision. Should you want more info on Alma Laser's Q-Switch Yag or Ruby let me know and I will have the office send you some info. Curious, why tattoos? are you doing other laser work in practice??

Yes our medical director offers other laser for skin resurfacing and hair removal. I'm the owner of the salon and we are noticing several calls a week asking for tattoo removal options so I thought I'd ask the group what their thoughts were in regard. I'm not sure if the investment in the laser makes sense financially considering the fees charged to patient... Unless the laser could be helpful for other treatments as well.

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with Rejuvetek Medical's tatt2away non laser system?

Just had a potential client come in for LTR a few weeks ago. She had 2 Tatt2Away treatments on the areas she wanted us to treat, but unfortunately had bad keloids form as a result of the Tatt2Away treatments. These treatments were performed at a local tattoo parlor by folks seemingly new to the treatment, who were not medical professionals. While I wouldn't say that the tatt2away treatment is definitely a bad idea, it definitely seems to have issues that need to be resolved...

I can help you with the Quanta Q Plus C. I work as a direct distributor/wholesaler for North America and can guarantee you the best pricing. In addition, I used to sell all of the above mentioned systems and can give you pros + cons on each.

Please contact me at 303 817 9401 or via email at mtrzeciak@quantausa.com

With all due respect, the Alma is not a good choice for tattoo removal. We have several clients who were treated at a MedSpa with an Alma who were injured. It does not have the joules to get a decent spot size at 1064 that lack of energy also makes it Ineffective on green and blue. I'm sure the Alma is good at some things but tattoo removal is not one of them.

Nice try Chris. Alma offers both a high powered as tag and ruby and with all due respect the lower efficacy on greens by TAG is a function of wavelength (1064) nm not power. The QS tag is a dual rod hi power 1064 w 1200 mj at 5 mm spot size. More than enough by 2x to treat. QS ruby similarly powered. Please keep it scientific and don't deliver a sales pitch.

The Alma also has a long pulse width at 20ns duration.

When did Alma begin to produce a Ruby? I have not heard of this and it is not published on their website.

Also, the specs show 400-1200mJ why the range?
Is power affected by Hz?
Other passive QS systems cannot create this kind of power when firing quickly...

The 532nm is Frequency Doubled, that results in 50% of power transmission (i.e. 200-600mJ) why is this not the case or disclosed? All other QS systems show this trend, why not Alma?

There is a new procedure called tatt2away....works great. I sell lasers and offer that as a better solution.

How about Sandstone/Ellman TriPlex 1064/532 Q-Switched laser? Great laser and works as well as the Spectra I used before.

Virgiia W,

Interesting name... I have not used the Sandstone Q-switched Yag. But I have used the Sandstone CO2 fractional. It was an OK system. Maybe the quality has improved at Sandstone in recent years. But after reviewing some of the data and photos, I am not convinced that this Q-switch is above average. My first reaction to the home page for Sandstone Medical technologies was a surprise from a testimonial of Steven White, MD and how satisfied he is with the equipment. Doctor Steven White retired at least 4 years ago.

Virgiia W, is your device good on blues and greens?

Yes knicker bocker, you are right. Most of these lasers do a great job on the darker inks (Blacks, Blues and Reds) and with those that were done by professional tattoo artists. Those tats are usually done at a consistent depth. You will get some lightening on the blues and greens, but I wouldn't be promising good results on the yellows. For the price though, its a great value especially if you are trying to lighten up the tats and do an overlay.

I have used several different QS systems. Here is the low down:
Alma is under powered.
Sandstone/Ellman is significantly under powered. Try using it on a tattoo that has been treated 2-3 times with significant remaining ink. You won't even get the frosting.
Lutronic: Great system, but pain in the neck to use its small spot size for dye handpieces. Hoya, the same. the upside to them is short pulse width of 5-6ns.
Picosure: Great machine with 4 treatments to remove almost any tattoo, EXCEPT for the red. Not usre abut the frequency of service calls and technical problems, as this is fairly new. Wait till more competition comes on the market.
Asclepion: Fantastic laser. Don't hesitate to buy.
Quanta: Great system, but difficult service as the service people are only in California and they will need to fly to your office to service your machine.
Good luck finding an ideal machine.
Tatt2away in theory works great...and much cheaper than lasers, but needs topical anesthesia and a doctor/nurse to operate.

To clarify, Quanta's service team is based out of California and is represented by Factory Trained technicians all across the USA. This team has grown significantly in the last 18 months.

Feel free to contact me directly for any info on our device and service.

Mike

Ryan
That was quite a review of the lasers and seemingly accurate. Although the quanta has grown over the past few years and offers a ruby system. People complain that the ruby is slow but they all are, I have never had a ruby go beyond 2Hz,

The only topic I disagree with is the need for a MD. the lasers are all class IV devices and in just about every state laser tattoo removal constitutes the practice of medicine to be performed by physician, advanced nurse or supervised PA.

There is one laser that was omitted and in my opinion the best. The Focus medical 2J naturlase. Unfortunately I do not own that one but after years of experience and looking back the focus system would have been the best with readily available parts and ample power.