Treatment of traumatic tattoos with various sterile brushes.

Background: Various types of brushes are efficient for the removal of foreign material accidentally projected into the skin by explosive or abrasive trauma.
Objective: To evaluate how different times between injury and treatment influenced esthetic results, we retrospectively evaluated 14 patients subjected to the brushing technique.
Methods: Two groups were identified. Group I had been treated within 24 hours of injury. In group II debridement had been performed later.
Results: Cosmetic results were strikingly better in group I.
Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that debridement of traumatic tattoos should be carried out as soon as possible to achieve favorable cosmetic results.