Is My Shoulder Tattoo Treatable By Serial Excisions?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Hello! I am interested in surgical removal of a large tattoo on the back of my left shoulder. A staged process is perfectly acceptable to me and scarring is only a minor concern. I prefer not to pursue laser removal as it is a lengthy process and doesn’t completely remove certain colors of tattoo ink. I look forward to hearing your assessment. Thank you!

A:That is a very large shoulder/arm tattoo that is not appropriate for a staged surgical excisional approach. Shot of excision and skin grafting, which seems questionably appropriate given the trade-off of a large skin graft patch, you are left only with laser treatments. I would not disagree that is a long an expensive process for probably what would turn out to be incomplete removal of it.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon