What should one do who has repented but has a tattoo on his body that cannot be removed except by a surgical operation?

Question : A man says that he had a tattoo drawn on his hand and then repented afterwards, and this tattoo cannot be removed except by surgical operations that may lead to disfigurement, so what should he do?

Answer : First, if the tattoo was not done by the person himself, because some people have their relatives tattoo them when they are young, then the sin is on the one who tattooed him, and he himself bears no sin. However, he must hide this tattoo as much as possible so that...
...because people may imitate him. As for if he is the one who got the tattoo, meaning he tattooed himself or asked someone to tattoo him, then it is obligatory for him to remove it, and it is not permissible for him to leave it. But if it cannot be removed except by ugly disfigurement, then it may be said that removal has become impossible, so he does not sin by leaving it. However, we must ask the doctors whether medicine has advanced to the point where this tattoo can be removed and the skin restored to how it was. In my opinion, this is not far off, because medicine has advanced now, and they have become able to beautify what is ugly, let alone remove the color. So this matter should be looked into. Yes.