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PILONIDAL DISEASE
Author(s) -
Isbister W. H.,
Prasad J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1995.tb01695.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pilonidal disease , surgery , sinus (botany) , abscess , general anaesthesia , outpatient procedure , general surgery , wound healing , botany , biology , genus
All patients with pilonidal disease (abscess or sinus) managed surgically (‘laying open’) between 1975 and 1990 in the Colorectal Service, University Department of Surgery, Wellington School of Medicine were reviewed. A total of 323 operations (177 males, 146 females) were performed in 311 patients. Seven males and 5 females required two operations before satisfactory healing was achieved (recurrence rate 3.8%). Males were older than females (mean, 26.4 vs . 21.5 years). One patient's wound bled following surgery and required immediate repacking. There were no other wound problems. One hundred and seventy‐seven patients presented acutely with pilonidal abscess and 146 patients presented with pilonidal sinus. Patients with pilonidal abscess were younger than those with pilonidal sinus (male, 25.8 vs 26.9 years and female, 20.8 vs 23.5 years). There were proportionately more Maori patients who presented acutely. ‘Laying open’ under general anaesthesia seems to be a safe and successful method for managing pilonidal disease in all but the few patients in whom multiple operations have been performed previously or in those in whom healing has failed to occur. Based on our initial experience of ‘day case’ surgery the procedure could safely be done on an outpatient basis.