Ruby laser for the treatment of trichiasis

Trichiasis, the misdirection of eyelashes arising from their normal sites of origin, may cause discomfort, corneal abrasions, ulceration and scarring. The therapies currently used for this condition have a variety of success rates and complications. In this report we describe epilation using a ruby laser to treat ten patients (11 lids). In six patients laser treatment was completely successful in achieving alopecia, in three patients the treatment was partly successful, and one patient was lost to follow up. In all cases ruby laser treatment was well tolerated, and there were no reported complications; thus, ruby laser treatment can be a viable and well-tolerated option for the relief of the symptoms of trichiasis.