This method is performed by a doctor who literally cuts around the outline of the tattoo and removes it using a scalpel. After the tattoo is removed the remaining skin is stitched back together with sutures leaving a scar behind. This tattoo removal option is best suited to smaller tattoos. Larger ones treated with this method often require skin grafts from another part of the body in order to close the area where the tattoo once was.

Using this method you are really trading a tattoo for a scar. However, the results are immediate with smaller tattoos often removed in a single session. Compared to laser tattoo removal or IPL the treatment is relatively inexpensive.

It is considered a routine procedure with a short recovery phase, if no infections or other complications arise. It is normally performed using local anesthetic to numb the tattooed area.