CO2 laser therapy has proven highly successful at treating scars caused by hidradenitis suppurativa. It improves skin appearance and pliability while simultaneously relieving pain and alleviating itching – as well as helping to prevent further scar formation.
Aetna considers this procedure cosmetic. Patients should discuss cost and other details with their physician regarding treatment – such as potential side effects and complementary or procedural approaches – including any potential costs or concerns associated with their specific comorbidities or conditions that might impact outcomes.
Complications
Laser hair removal is an increasingly popular solution to reduce the appearance of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) lesions, relieving pain and itching associated with this condition, while at the same time helping reduce its severity. While laser hair removal will likely help decrease symptoms overall, it should be understood as being only temporary relief rather than an effective cure – the goal being merely reducing numbers and severity of lesions instead of completely clearing away HS lesions altogether.
Recent meta-analyses conducted by authors of a meta-analysis indicated that long-pulsed Nd:YAG 1064nm laser treatment significantly reduced HS-laser lesion scores among mild to moderate patients suffering from HS, but had no noticeable impact on disease progression. The research study included 58 patients from various areas including axillae, perineum or inframammary areas who all displayed symptoms related to HS; these results confirmed previous clinical trials that demonstrated how this laser reduced lesions while also improving patient quality of life.
Non-curative hernia surgery occurs in nearly half of all cases and has an immense financial burden for both patients and payers in terms of resource consumption and costs. To identify and compare healthcare costs among HS patients who underwent surgical excision versus those who didn’t, this study used a national claims database and identified those using non-curative HS surgery, finding it increases costs while being associated with poorer outcomes.
Another study explored the efficacy of carbon dioxide laser treatment on scarring caused by hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Researchers noted that carbon dioxide laser was more effective than traditional methods such as peeling. Furthermore, carbon dioxide laser was proven to effectively treat scars in areas such as the axillae, perineum, and inframammary regions as well. Furthermore, its authors recommend further investigation in this field in order to improve patient care and health outcomes among HS patients.
People living with hidradenitis suppurativa may opt to seek laser treatment as an outpatient service in order to avoid shaving, which may exacerbate symptoms of their condition. Laser treatments tend to be less painful than traditional therapies for this condition and should only be undertaken after consulting with their physician, since it could potentially harm some individuals.
Side Effects
Carbon dioxide lasers offer safe and effective treatments for various skin conditions, including scarring. They can help eliminate precancerous actinic keratoses and superficial basal cell carcinomas as well as reduce wrinkles; however, carbon dioxide lasers may cause side effects such as redness or blistering in some patients; it is therefore crucial that all possible risks associated with carbon dioxide laser treatment be discussed with your physician prior to beginning any procedure of this kind.
Carbon Dioxide Lasers can also be used to treat Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS), which involves small nodules containing follicles. A carbon dioxide laser can help flatten these lesions and prevent future hyperplasia; however, it cannot remove cysts or enlarged follicles. If treating HS with topical medications is difficult for you, following your dermatologist’s recommendations regarding using carbon dioxide lasers could be beneficial.
CO2 laser therapy for hyperhidrosis has shown promising results, though additional studies must be completed to establish its efficacy. One recent study conducted by Cloitre and colleagues demonstrated that combining Nd:YAG and CO2 lasers proved more successful at alleviating symptoms than either alone; however, given its potential risk of malignant transformation of mucosal tissues alone, Cloitre did not advise this treatment for wide dissemination.
Page et al conducted another investigation of CO2 lasers’ effect on female genital mutilation syndrome (GSM). Participants were randomly assigned either three consecutive laser and sham treatments or one laser followed by two sham treatments; researchers reported that an ablative fractional CO2 laser significantly reduced GSM symptoms as measured by participant-reported changes on the Most Bothersome Symptom Scale as well as objective measurements such as pliability, tightness, extensibility, and thickness measurements.
Robinson and colleagues conducted a pilot study which demonstrated the efficacy of fractional CO2 laser treatment on elephantiasis nostras verrucosa (ENV). A 57-year-old woman diagnosed with biopsy-proven ENV underwent three laser sessions over six months with significant improvements both cosmetically and clinically.
Recovery
Researchers conducted a study that demonstrated how using carbon dioxide laser for treating hidradenitis suppurativa led to improved patient satisfaction and faster healing times, providing another viable treatment option for those who had not found relief with other options. Minimally-invasive and with no downtime required, this procedure takes 2 to 3 hours on average for treatment to take place under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting. At this step, a surgeon removes any areas of tunneling or scarring in the affected area before applying a bandage to cover their surgical site. The procedure is safe and effective, providing significant improvements to quality of life after its implementation.
Even with its widespread prevalence and serious side effects, current therapies for hidradenitis suppurativa offer limited relief. Pain relievers such as topical analgesics and acetaminophen are often employed, yet these don’t always adequately relieve symptoms related to this condition. Furthermore, some individuals suffer from psychological comorbidities that alter perception and tolerance levels when experiencing discomfort.
The authors reviewed literature for evidence regarding optimal evaluation and management of hyperhidrosis (HS), including diagnostic testing, screening for co-morbidities, as well as complementary and procedural treatment options. They conducted a systematic review on light and laser-based modalities from Cochrane, MEDLINE, Embase for English-language prospective, retrospective, case series describing HS; they collected and evaluated 62 publications that they classified by RCT, case series or other classification modalities and found that fractionated 1064nm long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser could improve psychosocial outcomes, promote physical scar remodeling as well as alter its disease process itself. They concluded that fractionated 1064-nm long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser can improve short and long term psychosocial outcomes by improving short and long term psychosocial outcomes while improving short and long term psychosocial outcomes as well as possibly altering disease process itself.
Although the results of the study appear promising, it should be remembered that it did not compare carbon dioxide laser therapy with any other treatment modalities and was conducted at only one center – meaning its findings might not necessarily generalizable to all individuals.
