Laser surgery for the permanent removal of all amateur and professional tattoo inks are carried out by qualified and trained laser technicians. Modern methods for the removal of tattoos from any part of the body use the new Q-switched lasers which superseded previous lasers in 2006. Q-switched lasers are the forefront in many other surgical procedures such as lasik refraction surgery to correct long and short sight problems; and laser hair removal procedures can give a person long periods of time where there is little or no hair growth on treated areas.

Laser surgery to remove a tattoo from the skin has been welcomed by the multitude of people whom have been severely scarred by other methods of removing tattoo ink. The medieval method of cutting out the tattoo with a scalpel and then grafting skin over the wound was used for decades and is still used in parts of the world today. This method was painful and always left disfiguring scars in the tattooed area and where the skin graft came from.

Before lasers were commercially available tattoos were also removed by the prehistoric method of abrasion. This is literally the sanding of the skin with either sandpaper or a smooth glass paper. This method for removing tattoos was barbaric and caused permanent scarring, extremely severe pain, and usually did not remove the tattoo ink but only faded it on occasions. This method for removal of tattoos can still be found in many third world countries.

All laser treatments like other medical procedures have a certain element of risk involved. Prior to any laser treatments being carried out on a patient, certain medical information must be divulged to ensure the recipient is not at risk from serious internal injuries due to ongoing medical treatment or medicines being taken at the time of the surgery.