Intense pulsed light for skin rejuvenation, hair removal, and vascular lesions: a patient satisfaction study and review of the literature.

There are very few studies in the English literature that evaluate the patient satisfaction after treatment using intense pulsed light (IPL) and there is no reported study comparing the results of the three major IPL applications: rejuvenation, hair removal, and treatment of small vascular lesions. This study was designed to compare results after IPL treatment for skin rejuvenation, hair removal, and vascular lesions. Three groups of 30 consecutive patients having skin rejuvenation, hair removal, and small vascular lesions were selected and treated with the same IPL system. The evaluation was performed 1 year after the last treatment for the following parameters: age, sex, skin type, satisfaction, willingness to continue the treatment, willingness to recommend the treatment, and complications. Most of the minor complications occurred in the rejuvenation group (86.6%). No complications were recorded for 67% of patients having hair removal and for 75% having vascular lesion treatment. There was no significant difference in the level of satisfaction between the 3 groups (Kruskal Wallis test; P = 0.257). No difference regarding satisfaction was recorded in this study, but complications were more frequently encountered after rejuvenation. The findings of this study are useful when discussing IPL treatments with patients considering IPL procedures.