Doctor Helps Youths Remove Tattoos

Dr. Bryna Kane knows how some people long to forget the past.

The daughter of a survivor of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, Kane said she grew up watching her father’s friends wearing long-sleeved shirts--even on hot summer days--to cover up their camp tattoos.

Now Kane is helping others to remove one reminder of their pasts with a free tattoo-removal service at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.

Launched Wednesday, the “Erase the Past” program targets former gang members who want to remove the symbols of their affiliations. The program accepts 14- to 25-year-olds who have no record of involvement in gang activity for the past six months.

Patients pay no money but must perform five hours of community service for every hour of treatment, Kane said.

Kane said the program will cost about $30,000 the first year and will treat 75 to 100 patients. Kane runs a laser skin care center in Long Beach with Dr. Edward Glassberg. The center is funding the program. They will be helped by Dr. Wendy Hoffman, an associate at the center.