Sinus excision for the treatment of limited chronic pilonidal disease: results after a medium-term follow-up

We have previously introduced a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of limited pilonidal disease. In this paper, the results for patients who had at least one year of follow-up are provided.

All patients operated with the sinus excision technique were studied retrospectively and those who had a follow-up period shorter than 12 months were excluded. Demographics, perioperative and postoperative data, and patient satisfaction scores were obtained from a prospectively designed database. Limited pilonidal disease was defined as disease presenting with less than four visible pits.

Sixty-two patients (56 males, 90.3 percent; mean age, 25.8 +/- 10.4 years) were included in the study. Patients returned to work in 1.9 +/- 0.7 days, and the mean healing period was 43 +/- 10.4 days. All procedures were performed under local anesthesia, and the mean operation time was 9.7 +/- 3.4 minutes. The number of outpatient procedures was 45 (72.6 percent). One patient suffered from a minor complication (bleeding that was stopped with electrocauterization; n = 1, 1.6 percent) and recurrence was observed in another case (n = 1, 1.6 percent). Patients received a satisfaction questionnaire, which revealed that 34 patients (54.8 percent) were "completely satisfied with the procedure" and 49 (79 percent) would "absolutely recommend the technique to other patients."

Sinus excision is an advisable technique for the treatment of limited pilonidal disease, because it can be performed under local anesthesia mostly as an outpatient procedure and the operation time is extremely short. Although the healing period is long, the off-work period is short, and patients are generally satisfied with the procedure. After a medium-term follow-up, the complication and recurrence rates are acceptable. We believe that sinus excision technique is a simple and effective method for the treatment of limited pilonidal disease.