title: Laser and light treatments for pilonidal cysts.
abstract: Pilonidal (nest of hair) cysts are foreign body reactions accompanied by chronic inflammation. Current accepted treatments include the traditional conservative treatments or aggressive surgery. However, these modalities exhibit a high rate of disease recurrence, especially in patients with hirsutism; therefore, affected patients often are subjected to repeated surgical interventions. This report describes 5 patients treated with either a diode laser or intense pulsed light (IPL), which produced results leaving the patients recurrence free. Four of 5 patients remained recurrence free for 7 months to more than 36 months; one patient experienced a recurrence after 36 months, which was longer than his previous remission. These results suggest laser and IPL technologies are alternatives to traditional surgical intervention, providing potentially longer disease-free intervals and fewer recurrences.
authors.affiliation: Weill Medical College of Cornell University/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, USA. nssderm@sadickdermatology.com
authors.forename: Neil S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Sadick
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yee-Levin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008297:Male; D010789:Phototherapy; D010864:Pilonidal Sinus / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D012008:Recurrence; D016896:Treatment Outcome