van der Ploeg-Westerveld Jos, Wagter Jacqueline, van Gemert Martin J C, Neumann H A M, Bour H, Zwart A
Department of Skin Therapy, Faculty of Health, Hogeschool of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Lasers Surg Med. 2007 Dec;39(10):773-5. doi: 10.1002/lsm.20580.
Hair removal around an ileo-colo ostomy can cause a number of problems. We compared laser hair removal with mechanical shaving around the ostomy.
Eleven patients were selected with hairy skin around the ostomy for therapy with an AlGaAs diode laser at 800 nm. Three to four treatments were given with an interval of 6 weeks.
Ten patients completed laser therapy. The average hair reduction was 60% based on visual inspection. Shaving frequency reduced from once a week to once every 6 weeks.
Laser hair removal likely becomes the preferred method in ostomy patients.