Comparing treatment outcomes between physician and nurse treated patients in laser hair removal

OBJECTIVE : The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were differences in outcome between patients treated by a trained physician and patients treated by a trained, supervised nurse. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS : A total of 100 patients were treated for unwanted body hair using the Cynosure long-pulsed alexandrite laser: 50 patients were treated by a physician and 50 by a nurse. RESULTS : The measured average reduction in hair counts was 74 - 8% in the physician-treated group and 70 - 6% in the nurse-treated group (NS). Transient skin changes (i.e. pigmentation changes and blistering) were comparable between the two groups. Patient satisfaction measured by an assessment scale of 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor) was 1.6 - 0.3 and 1.4 - 0.3 in the physician- and nurse-treated groups respectively (NS). CONCLUSION : Using treatment efficacy, complication rate, and patient satisfaction as variables, this study concluded that properly trained physicians and nurses achieved parallel results in laser hair removal.