Nemours Children's Clinic
Pilot randomized trial assessing the effectiveness of laser hair depilation on pilonidal disease recurrence in patients with darker skin color
Pilonidal disease is a painful skin infection that occurs in the crease of the buttocks near the tailbone (gluteal cleft) and affects approximately 1% of the population between the ages of 15-30 years. Medical therapy of pilonidal disease is largely dependent upon continued hair removal, meticulous hygiene to the area, and recurrent courses of antibiotics with intermittent incision and drainage procedures. However, recurrent pilonidal disease after initial incision and drainage can be as high as 40% and wound complications after resection have been reported to be as high as 30%. Recurrence oft…
Inclusion Criteria: * Age: 10-21 years * Diagnosis of pilonidal disease * Fitzpatrick skin type IV, V, or VI Exclusion Criteria: * History of photosensitivity * Actively inflamed pilonidal sinus (will be offered enrollment upon resolution).
Laser hair depilation treatment with Nd:YAG laser every 4-6 weeks to obtain a total of 5 treatments. Similar to the control group, they will also receive the "best recommended standard care" including teaching on hair removal techniques and asked to perform either chemical or mechanical depilation as needed between treatments.
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