The surgical treatment of carbuncles: a tale of two techniques

The treatment of carbuncles is early administration of antibiotics and surgery. The commonest surgical approaches are saucerization, and incision and drainage (I&D). Although these two techniques are vastly different, there is a lack of evidence to determine which one produces a better outcome. Three cases of carbuncles are presented to illustrate the contrasting surgical techniques and their results. Three consecutive patients who presented to this hospital with carbuncles were treated with either saucerization or I&D. They were followed up for 8 weeks to assess their outcome. One patient had saucerization while two other patients underwent I&D of their carbuncles. Saucerization produced the shortest length of hospital stay. I&D resulted in earlier wound healing. A randomized controlled is needed to determine the best surgical approach for the treatment of carbuncles.