Laser hair removal for pilonidal sinus

mumbaigirl · July 15, 2012, 12:10pm

Laser hair removal as adjunct to surgery for pilonidal sinus: our initial experience.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Laser hair removal as adjunct to surgery for pilonidal sinus: our initial experience.

WM Ghnnam and DM Hafez, Journal of cutaneous and aesthetic surgery, Sep 2011

Chronic pilonidal disease is a common debilitating condition. It is a cause of considerable morbidity and social embarrassment. This prospective randomized study compared permanent laser hair removal following the excision of pilonidal disease with conventional methods for hair removal.PATIENTS UNDERGOING SURGERY FOR PILONIDAL DISEASE WERE RANDOMIZED TO TWO GROUPS: those using laser hair removal methods following completed healing of wounds (group I) or regular post-healing conventional methods for hair removal, mainly razor and depilatory creams, for at least 6 months (group II). Group I patients received regular, monthly laser hair treatment sessions using Alexandrite laser for four sessions.Group I patients had a mean age of 23.6 ± 4.7 years. Group I patients had monthly laser hair removal session and then they were regularly followed up within the proposed schedule. They found the procedure comfortable with no complications. Group II patients had a mean age of 23.7 ± 6.6 years; they reported difficulty in maintaining hair removal with these conventional methods, and mostly, by the end of the first year, all cases stopped maintaining regular hair removal. Recurrence occurred in Group II patients (two cases) mostly due to failure in maintaining hair removal and area hygiene.We advocate the use of laser epilation after surgery for pilonidal sinus as it decreases the chance of recurrence but larger studies with long-term follow-up are still needed to approve this conclusion.

Evaluation of 60 patients with pilonidal sinus treated with laser epilation after surgery.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Evaluation of 60 patients with pilonidal sinus treated with laser epilation after surgery.

Y Oram, F Kahraman, Y Karincaoğlu and E Koyuncu, Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.], 2010

The surgical treatments for pilonidal sinus disease often result in recurrences, and the patients risk requiring multiple surgical interventions.To evaluate the role of alexandrite laser hair removal after surgery in pilonidal sinus disease.Sixty patients who underwent surgical treatment of pilonidal sinus disease and were treated with a 755-nm alexandrite laser after surgery between 1999 and 2007 were examined retrospectively. The charts were reviewed, and the patients were interviewed on the telephone about their post-laser period and recurrence. The laser parameters, patient history, and surgical details were recorded.The overall recurrence rate was 13.3%, after a mean follow-up period +/- standard error of the mean of 4.8 +/- 0.3 years. The mean number of laser treatment was 2.7 +/- 0.1. Seventy-five percent of the recurrences were detected after a follow-up period of 5 to 9 years. Fifty percent of the recurrent cases had drainage and secondary intention before the laser epilation.Our results strongly suggest that laser hair removal after surgical interventions in pilonidal sinus disease decreases the risk of recurrence over the long term.

Laser depilation and hygiene: preventing recurrent pilonidal sinus disease.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Laser depilation and hygiene: preventing recurrent pilonidal sinus disease.

FJ Conroy, N Kandamany and PJ Mahaffey, Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS, Sep 2008

Pilonidal sinus disease of the natal cleft is a painful and debilitating condition which often recurs despite multiple surgical undertakings. We describe the long pulsed alexandrite laser for hair depilation and the role of personal hygiene, which is often overlooked when treating this disease, as an adjunct to preventing recurrent pilonidal sinus disease.A review of 14 patients who underwent laser hair depilation in the natal cleft following pilonidal sinus surgery. The majority of patients had recurrent disease and had undergone numerous surgical procedures (range 1-5, mean 2.07) All patients were given advice regarding meticulous personal hygiene at the time of consultation.12 patients received the full course of treatment (three treatments, 6-weekly) followed by 'top-up' treatments as required (mean number of treatments 3.9). None of the patients developed recurrent disease at 1-year follow up and, to date, none have required further surgery.Laser hair depilation is a useful adjunct in preventing the recurrence of pilonidal sinus disease and should be offered routinely to all patients. This coupled with patient education regarding personal hygiene reduces the risk of developing recurrent pilonidal sinus disease.

I guess electrolysis will work for pilonidal sinus too. Any experiences?

electrolysislady · December 27, 2012, 2:12am

I have seen a few pre operative pilonidal sinus patients. In those individuals the hair follicles were buried in a small canal and could not be seen making it impossible to treat with electrolysis.

ayshachaudhary · December 27, 2012, 3:57am

An interesting thing about PS is that it’s quite common in women too. It has much more to do with sitting than hair. Even fine hair which would not respond to Laser can be involved.

I have only accessed the full paper of the last article and the glaring flaw I see in it is that it does not look (or at least mention) the surgical technique used to remove the sinuses in the first place. This is important because some techniques have a very low recurrence rate anyway.

I agree with electrolysis lady. Where electrolysis would be most beneficial is prevention.