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Tattoo removal program opens to public
Located at the Tangelwood Clinic, 4214 Tanglewood Lane, in Odessa, the clinic is open every Friday with physician assistant Pam Foster doing the honors.
by Ruth Campbell
Midland Reporter-Telegram
By Ruth Campbell
Staff Writer
ODESSA -- There are as many different tattoos as reasons for wanting them gone. To fill that need, Texas Tech University Health Sciences has opened an affordable removal clinic.
Located at the Tangelwood Clinic, 4214 Tanglewood Lane, in Odessa, the clinic is open every Friday with physician assistant Pam Foster doing the honors.
"I usually get professional women who are trying to become teachers or lawyers," Foster said.
Texas Tech Health Sciences Assistant Director of Clinical Operations Mel Bullock said, "there is significant tattoo regret.
"Every tattoo has a message someone is trying to send. People don't count on the social or employment implications some tattoos have," he said.
A tattoo removal clinic for former inmates, gang members and those wanting to leave gangs is held the last Saturday of each month at the Tech Internal Medicine Clinic at State Highway 191 and Loop 250.
An $11,000 Tattoo Obliteration by Infrared (TOBIL) instrument is used to remove the tattoos. The device uses a Redfield IRC 2100 Infrared Coagulator, which splits the ink into small particles the body can absorb while producing a superficial second-degree burn. Clients are sent home with Silvadene cream and some bandages.
"It's treated like a second-degree burn," Foster said.
It can take one to three sessions to remove tattoos, but Foster said it typically takes three. Cost is $50 per person for the inmate/gang tattoo removal program and $100-$500 at the affordable clinic. For tattoos larger than 15 square inches, cost is $33.33 per square inch. For example, if the art measures 2 inches by 9 inches, that would be 18 square inches and cost $599.94, a brochure says.
Still, costs are one-quarter to one-third less than laser treatment provided by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon.
The day after U.S. District Judge Rob Junell announced the clinic in June, phones at the main Tech campus in Odessa and those of the U.S. Probation Office were "ringing off the hook."
"We had not planned on cranking up until the end of September, but because of public demand we started July 11," Bullock said.
"It's not only the general public, it's law enforcement officers and people who want to join the military," Bullock said.
If a young man or woman is being excluded by the military due to inappropriate or excessive tattoos, he or she can have them removed at a discount, he said.
Foster said she has removed tattoos from seven or eight people so far, but some have come in for consultation. The process takes 45 minutes total -- unless there are multiple tattoos. Clients are given local anesthesia.
"Virtually every (client) we see wants it right off and could care less if there is discoloration or a scar," Bullock said.
Bullock said about 80 percent of the results are dependent on how well patients take care of the removal site. "If they follow our instructions, they will have minimal or no scarring," he said.
The Permian Basin Tattoo Removal Program now has a four-month waiting list, and Bullock said Tech is will talk to the Texas Youth Commission about providing the service.
Foster said she's glad to help the community.
"A lot of kids don't think about what happens in the future. If we can help them have successful lives, we're glad to do that," Foster said.
Ruth Campbell can be reached at ruth@mrt.com.
Staff Writer
ODESSA -- There are as many different tattoos as reasons for wanting them gone. To fill that need, Texas Tech University Health Sciences has opened an affordable removal clinic.
Located at the Tangelwood Clinic, 4214 Tanglewood Lane, in Odessa, the clinic is open every Friday with physician assistant Pam Foster doing the honors.
"I usually get professional women who are trying to become teachers or lawyers," Foster said.
Texas Tech Health Sciences Assistant Director of Clinical Operations Mel Bullock said, "there is significant tattoo regret.
"Every tattoo has a message someone is trying to send. People don't count on the social or employment implications some tattoos have," he said.
A tattoo removal clinic for former inmates, gang members and those wanting to leave gangs is held the last Saturday of each month at the Tech Internal Medicine Clinic at State Highway 191 and Loop 250.
An $11,000 Tattoo Obliteration by Infrared (TOBIL) instrument is used to remove the tattoos. The device uses a Redfield IRC 2100 Infrared Coagulator, which splits the ink into small particles the body can absorb while producing a superficial second-degree burn. Clients are sent home with Silvadene cream and some bandages.
"It's treated like a second-degree burn," Foster said.
It can take one to three sessions to remove tattoos, but Foster said it typically takes three. Cost is $50 per person for the inmate/gang tattoo removal program and $100-$500 at the affordable clinic. For tattoos larger than 15 square inches, cost is $33.33 per square inch. For example, if the art measures 2 inches by 9 inches, that would be 18 square inches and cost $599.94, a brochure says.
Still, costs are one-quarter to one-third less than laser treatment provided by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon.
The day after U.S. District Judge Rob Junell announced the clinic in June, phones at the main Tech campus in Odessa and those of the U.S. Probation Office were "ringing off the hook."
"We had not planned on cranking up until the end of September, but because of public demand we started July 11," Bullock said.
"It's not only the general public, it's law enforcement officers and people who want to join the military," Bullock said.
If a young man or woman is being excluded by the military due to inappropriate or excessive tattoos, he or she can have them removed at a discount, he said.
Foster said she has removed tattoos from seven or eight people so far, but some have come in for consultation. The process takes 45 minutes total -- unless there are multiple tattoos. Clients are given local anesthesia.
"Virtually every (client) we see wants it right off and could care less if there is discoloration or a scar," Bullock said.
Bullock said about 80 percent of the results are dependent on how well patients take care of the removal site. "If they follow our instructions, they will have minimal or no scarring," he said.
The Permian Basin Tattoo Removal Program now has a four-month waiting list, and Bullock said Tech is will talk to the Texas Youth Commission about providing the service.
Foster said she's glad to help the community.
"A lot of kids don't think about what happens in the future. If we can help them have successful lives, we're glad to do that," Foster said.
Ruth Campbell can be reached at ruth@mrt.com.
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terri wrote on Jul 29, 2008 9:00 AM: