Jsmc-10283

PATIENTS’ SATISFACTION AND SAFETY OF LASER HAIR REMOVAL

Kazhan Ali Tofiq a and Khalid Rashid Suliman b

a Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

b Community Health Department/Technical college of Health/Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Submitted: 15/5/2020; Accepted: 23/8/2020; Published: 21/3/2021

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.17656/jsmc.10283

ABSTRACT

Background

Laser treatment for controlling unwanted hair or laser-assisted hair removal is ever-increasing in popularity. This technology has been introduced to our practice for more than a decade, and it is fast advancing. Many factories that produce laser machines, and even beauty or aesthetic centers, claim commercially that laser hair removal in all skin types is free of side effects. This study aims to detect the degree of patients’ satisfaction with current practice in laser hair removal and the incidence of adverse effects after laser and light systems therapy for hair removal.

Objectives

To find out the degree of patients’ satisfaction with laser treatment of unwanted hair or hirsutism in addition to assessing the safety of laser-assisted hair removal, through detecting post-treatment side effects (e.g. redness, pain, scarring, post-laser hyper or hypopigmentation).

Materials and Methods

A cross-sectional study in a private dermatology and laser clinic in Sulaimania city/Iraq-Kurdistan Region.Three hundred (300) patients were involved in our study. They attended ongoing laser hair removal sessions. All patients were interviewed and treated by Dual head Alexandrite/Nd-yag Laser or Diod laser.

Results

Out of 300 patients, included in our study, two hundred eighty-eight were females and their ages ranged from 15 to 64 yrs. The number of sessions was from one to 37 sessions in this group. Duration of laser treatment, found to range from 1 to 50 months. Immediate side effects like redness, blistering, and pain were reported in 76 patients (25.3%), while long-term side effects like hyperpigmentation, acne flare, or scarring were seen in 28 patients (9.3%). Regarding the degree of patients’ satisfaction,167 patients (55.6%) were highly satisfied, 120 (40%) were less satisfied, while 13 (4.3%) were unsatisfied with the results of laser-assisted hair control. Our study found no correlation between both immediate and long-term side effects with the age of the patients. The sessions’ number was also well-tolerated and effective treatment modality not related significantly to the age, or the number of sessions.

Conclusion

Laser treatment of unwanted hair is a safe, well-tolerated, and effective treatment modality, which leads to high patient satisfaction.

KEYWORDS

Laser safety; Hirsutism; Laser-assisted hair control; Patient’s satisfaction.

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