Treatment of traumatic tattoos with the Nd YAG laser: a series of nine cases

Inadequate primary skin cleansing for dirt-ingrained skin abrasions can res ult in disfiguring traumatic tattoos. We present nine cases of traumatic ta ttoos treated with the Nd YAG laser. In six cases the pigmentation was comp letely cleared and in three cases minimal pigmentation remained. The Nd YAG laser offers effective late treatment of traumatic tattoos with many advan tages over conventional destructive treatment modalities. The best treatmen t is still immediate debridement and cleaning.