Psychological Characteristics and Changes after the Tattoo Removal.

Chun, Yong Hoon; Kim, Jae Jung; Oh, Kap Sung; Ha, Bomjoon; Hyon, Won Sok; Kim, E Yong; Kim, Ji Hae; Kim, Keun Hyang; Han, Wou Sang

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Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons 2002;29(3):175-180.
Published online May 1, 2002.

Psychological Characteristics and Changes after the Tattoo Removal.

Yong Hoon Chun, Jae Jung Kim, Kap Sung Oh, Bomjoon Ha, Won Sok Hyon, E Yong Kim, Ji Hae Kim, Keun Hyang Kim, Wou Sang Han

¹Department of Plastic Surgery, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Korea. ksoh@samsung.co.kr
²Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Korea.
³Korean National Police Hospital Department of Psychiatry, Korea.

Abstract

Tattooing has been practised since pre-Christian times, as an object of both fascination and revulsion. In the Present day, body tattoo has been a flourishing and contemporary teen issue. Adolescents have discovered tattoos as a means of self-expression. Due to the external characteristics of the tattoo however, a lot of researchers have shown their interest and done various researches. The examination of the psychological characteristics of the tattooed people revealed that a lot of people have psychological problems, the tattoos revealing the person's deviated image. As a result, several attempts have been made to try and correlate tattoos with the psychiatric diagnoses such as schizophrenia or personality disorder, or with adverse social circumstances such as poverty. The subject of tattoo removal is as old as the history of tattooing itself. Plastic surgeons have witnessed numerous tragic instances where a tattoo has caused hardship, including diminished employment prospects, even loss of love and affection from family and friends and, very commonly, loss of self-esteem. For this reason, the bearers of tattoo often consider the inevitable scarring left by tattoo removal as a preferable alternative. Past techniques of removing tattoos, using corrosive agents or skin graft, have been universally unsuccessful, or certainly less than satisfactory. But, currently laser therapy has been introduced into the market to remove tattoos. As a result, a lot of people have visited hospitals to get tattoos removed. In addition, many of those who had tried to hide the fact that they had tattoos, have been given the opportunity to express their feelings, and rate their psychological statements. This research enables to find the best approach to the person's psychiatric point of view, by objectively observing the person's psychological characteristics and psychological changes after the tattoo removal.

Keywords: Tattoo; Tattoo removal; Psychiatric diagnoses; Self-esteem

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