TO STUDY THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF Nd:YAG HAIR REMOVAL LASER ON PREGNANT AND NON-PREGNANT WOMEN.

Objective:- To study the efficacy and side effects of Nd:YAG laser hair removal in pregnant woman, her conceptus and its comparison to non-pregnant healthy women. Patients and method:- A retrospective (case control) study was designed in DERMATOLOGY DEPARTMENT,CITY HOSPITAL MULTAN. The study was carried out between June 2013 to June 2016. Total 100 pregnant and 100 non-pregnant healthy women were included in the study. We entered their detailed medical history and clinical examination in proformas. The subjects were divided into two groups. Group A included pregnant and Group B included non-pregnant healthy women. 1064 nm long pulsed Nd:YAG (Neodymium doped – Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) laser with energy range of 20 to 30 j/cm2 and pulse duration of 3 to 20 millisecond was used in our study. Both groups were given 8 sessions with a gap of eight weeks . Results were assessed by manual counting of hairs and photographs taken. Results:- GROUP A: Out of 110 subjects, 93 completed the study . 81 (87.4%) subjects showed 65 to 75% reduction of unwanted hairs after eight sessions. 89 (95%) showed short term erythema. 47 subjects (50.5%) showed post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. 19 (20.4%) showed up blistering and 8.6% came up with folliculitis. 3 subjects (3.2%) showed postinflammatory hypopigmentation. 21 subjects (22.5%) showed paradoxical hirsutism. 23 (24.7%) showed perifollicular edema and no subject showed any complication in pregnancy related to HRL and no fetal deformity or anomaly was seen in the neonates after birth. GROUP B: Out of 110 subjects, 103 completed the study. 91 subjects (88.3%) showed 65 to 75 % reduction of hairs. 100 (97%) showed short term erythema. 22 (21.3%) showed postinflammatory hyperpigmentation. 15 (14.5%) showed blistering. 6 (5.8%) showed folliculitis. 9 (8.7%) showed postinflammatory hypopigmentation. 53 (51.4%) showed paradoxical hirsutism. 31 (30%) showed up perifollicular edema. Conclusion:- Nd-YAG HRL can be safely used in a pregnant women without any harmful side effects on conceptus. Its equally effective and safe to be used in pregnant and non-pregnant healthy women with minimal side effects.