Treatment of recurrent pilonidal cysts with nd-YAG laser: report of our experience.

Purpose: Surgical treatment remains the first-line therapy of pilonidal cyst but is associated with high levels of postoperative pain, adverse events and a recurrence rate of 30%. We report our experience with laser hair removal using the Nd-YAG laser for the treatment of pilonidal cyst.Materials and methods: Ten patients affected by pilonidal cyst were examined and treated from October 2011 to November 2016. Treatments were carried out using the Nd-YAG laser (Deka M.E.L.A, Calenzano, Florence, Italy) at a wavelength of 1064nm at 30-day interval.Results: Nine patients were asymptomatic after the second treatment, while in one case the symptom disappeared after the fourth session. After 4-8 treatments, the pilonidal cyst had clinically disappeared and patients subjectively felt healed. In all cases, the soft-tissue ultrasounds performed before the first and after the last session showed the disappearance of the pilonidal cyst. In the follow-up, all the patients remained asymptomatic without any disease recurrence.Conclusions: Nd-YAG laser is an effective treatment for pilonidal cysts, providing excellent results with quick healing and no risk of serious adverse side-effects. It could be a very attractive alternative to open surgery, enabling patients to prevent the frequent and severe postoperative issues associated with surgery.