Long-Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser Treatment for Hirsutism in Asian Skin: A Clinical Evaluation

Hirsutism is a very common psychologically distressing medical condition. Laser is the commonly used method for the treatment of hirsutism. This study aims to observe the outcome and side effects of Nd:YAG Laser (Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet laser) in hirsutism. This study was performed at the the department of Dermatology and Venereology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh from June 2022 to December 2022 in which thirty-eight (38) female patients with facial hirsutism, aged 18-42 years were included and evaluated for the outcome and side effects of Nd:YAG laser with a spot size of 10 mm, fluence range of 18-25 (J/cm²) with pulse duration 25-40 ms for our skin photo type. Starting fluence of 18 (J/cm²) was increased by 10% at each laser session. Results showed that 31(81.6%) patients had excellent response followed by fair 4(10.5%) and 3(5.3%) good with poor 1(2.6%) at the end of 6 session. Short-term erythema was seen in 31.6% of patients, perifollicular oedema in 50.0% and post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation in 3.0% of patients. The study showed that long pulsed (1064 nm) Nd:YAG laser is a very safe and effective means of hair reduction.