Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, recurrent and debilitating inflammatory skin
disorder, characterized by painful inflamed nodules, abscesses and tunnels in the skin folds
such as the axilla, inguinal region and gluteal area. The primary event in HS is occlusion of
the hair follicle. HS is a notoriously difficult to treat disease, because treatment options
are limited and evidence based treatments are scarce. Prevention of diseases is an important
topic in medicine. However, current clinical trials in HS are focusing on anti-inflammatory
drugs in patients with severe HS, whereas prevention and treatment of patients with more
common mild HS is neglected. Laser hair removal therapy is a non-invasive procedure with
minimal treatment discomfort for patients. Previous limited studies have suggested positive
results in favor of laser hair removal therapy in HS. We therefore hypothesize that hair
depilation using laser hair removal therapy may prevent the formation of new lesions and
flares of the disease. The objective is to assess the efficacy of laser hair removal therapy
in patients with mild to moderate HS.