BACKGROUND: PNS is caused by an infection in the sacrococcygeal area triggered by hair particle accumulation in skin tunnels, resulting in infection. Surgical options range from simple excision to complex flap constructions. Primary wound healing failure and recurrence rates contribute to the burden of PNS. RD2 Ver.02, a novel autologous whole-blood clot product, demonstrated safety and efficacy in treating complex cutaneous wounds and was investigated for the management of PNS.
METHODS: A Phase II open-label, pilot, single-arm prospective study was conducted from May 2021 to May 2023 (Ethics Committee approval #7952-20). Patients with PNS underwent a minimally invasive trephine procedure under local anesthesia followed by RD2 Ver.02 instillation into the cavity. Primary healing was assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months. Secondary outcomes included the collection of adverse events.
RESULTS: Overall, 51 patients participated in the study. At 3 months, 42/51 healed (82.4%), 7/51 (13.7%) were granulating but not completely healed, and 2/51 (3.9%) failed to heal. At 6 and 12 months, 46/51 (90.2%) and 42/51 (82.4%) achieved complete healing, respectively. At 6 months, two PNSs recurred after initial healing and an additional four instances of PNS recurrence observed in 12 months, so a total of recurrence in six patients (11.8%). There were five adverse events (AEs) with no severe adverse events.
CONCLUSIONS: RD2 Ver.02 is a safe and effective treatment of PNS when coupled with a minimally invasive trephine PNS procedure. Further comparative studies are needed to fully assess the role of this novel therapy for PNS.

Over the last decades, novel therapeutic options have emerged for the surgical treatment of pilonidal sinus disease (PSD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of trephine/pit excision surgery with or without laser therapy in patients with PSD.
A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a large tertiary medical center, including all adult patients with PNS who underwent trephine surgery with/without laser therapy between 2016 and 2021[AUTHORS TO INSERT MONTH]. Propensity score matching was used to address confounding factors, and the primary outcome was the 1-year recurrence rate.
The study included 221 patients with PSD, with a mean age of 23.73 years (87.7% male). In the unmatched cohort (130 trephine surgery alone, 91 trephine surgery + laser therapy), significant differences were observed in mean age (23 vs. 25 years; p < 0.01)[AUTHROS TO USE MEDIAN PLUS RANGE OR ADD SD] and surgeons\' experience (p = 0.014). Propensity score matching was applied to overcome confounding factors, resulting in a matched cohort including 73 patients in each group. The addition of laser therapy demonstrated a significantly lower recurrence rate (8.2% vs. 32.9%; p < 0.001) compared to pit excision without laser therapy. Logistic regression analysis showed that the addition of laser was significantly associated with a lower risk for recurrence (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.089-0.633; p < 0.01).
The incorporation of laser therapy along with trephine/pit excision surgery significantly reduces the recurrence rate in patients with PNS. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.

OBJECTIVE: Pilonidal sinus disease is a disease that especially affects the young population and causes loss of workforce. Although many treatment methods have been defined, there is still no \"gold standard\" treatment method. Our objective was to evaluate the postoperative results of bilateral parallel elliptical flap and Karydakis flap in the surgical treatment of pilonidal sinus.
METHODS: This study was conducted at the Colorectal Surgery Department of Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital. It designed a prospective randomized controlled study. Patients that underwent surgery due to pilonidal sinus were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. Surgery was performed with the bilateral parallel elliptical flap (BPEF) technique in one group and the Karydakis flap (KF) technique in the other group. Postoperative pain, length of hospital stay, wound complications, time taken to return to work/school, and recurrence incidence were evaluated.
RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were included in the study, 49 in the BPEF group and 53 in the KF group. The length of hospital stay was similar in the BPEF and KF groups (1.41 ± 0.81 and 1.45 ± 0.84, respectively; p > 0.05). There was less postoperative pain in the BPEF group (2.47 ± 1.02 vs 3.57 ± 1.10, p < 0.05). Wound complications were observed in nine patients in the BPEF group (18.2%) and 14 patients in the KF group (26.2%). The time to return to work/school was shorter in the BPEF group (21.06 ± 6.37 vs 27.04 ± 7.45; p < 0.05). Recurrence developed in two (4%) patients in the BPEF group and three (5.6%) patients in the KF group (p > 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The patients who underwent surgery with the bilateral parallel elliptical flap technique had less pain and a shorter time to return to work/school after the operation. The postoperative complication and recurrence rates were similar in both groups.
BACKGROUND: clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT05851690. (5/11/2023) (retrospectively registered).

This study aimed to report a multicentric national experience about the outcomes of pediatric endoscopic pilonidal sinus treatment (PEPSiT). The medical records of all pediatric patients, aged up to 18 years, who underwent PEPSiT in the period 2019-2021, were retrospectively reviewed. Patients\' demographics, operative details, and post-operative outcomes were assessed. A total of 294 patients (182 boys), with median age of 14 years (range 10-18), receiving PEPSiT in the study period, were enrolled. Pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) was primary in 258 (87.8%) and recurrent in 36 (12.2%). The median operative time was 36 min (range 11-120). The median VAS pain score was 0.86 (range 0-3) and the median duration of analgesic use was 27 h (range 12-60). The overall success rate was 95.2% (280/294) and the median time to full healing was 23.4 days (range 19-50). Six/294 (2.0%) patients developed Clavien 2 post-operative complications. The recurrence rate was 4.8% (14/294) and all recurrences were re-operated using PEPSiT. Redo-surgery for wound debridement was performed in one (0.3%) patient with late healing. On multivariate analysis, hirsutism and typology of sinus (pits ≥ 2, paramedian and more proximal to the anus) were predictors of PSD recurrence (p = 0.001). To date, this is the largest series of PEPSiT published in the pediatric population. The outcomes reported after a 3 years experience confirm that PEPSiT is a safe, effective, and real minimally invasive procedure to treat adolescents with PSD. It provides patients quick and painless recovery, satisfactory success, and high quality of life.

This study aimed to investigate the coexistence of pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) and hirsutism in female patients.
UNASSIGNED: The demographic and clinical data of 164 female patients who underwent surgery for PSD between January 2007 and May 2014 were evaluated for this retrospective cross-sectional study. Data collected for this study were age, BMI, the modified Ferriman and Gallwey scale (mFGS) for hirsutism, main symptoms, type of surgery, early postoperative complications (wound infection, wound dehiscence), recurrence, and follow-up. The independent variables are hirsutism (mFGS scores) and BMI. Dependent variables are early postoperative complications and recurrence.
UNASSIGNED: The median age was 20 years (95% CI for median: 19-21 years). According to the BMI, 45.7, 50.6, and 3.7% of patients were considered normal, overweight, and obese, respectively. According to the mFGS, 11, 9.8, 52.4, and 26.8% of patients were considered to have none, mild, moderate, or severe hirsutism, respectively. Fourteen (8.5%) patients had developed recurrence. Recurrence developed in six patients with primary closure, five patients with Limberg flaps, two patients with Karydakis, and one with marsupialization. There was no statistical difference between recurrent and nonrecurrent patients in terms of BMI (P=0.054) and mFGS (P=0.921). On the other hand, BMI was statistically significantly higher in those who developed early postoperative complications than in those who did not (P<0.001).
UNASSIGNED: PSD is no longer a \'men\'s only disease\'. BMI increases the risk of early postoperative complications, but this association was not found between BMI and recurrence. Prospective multicenter studies are needed on the relationship between PSD and hirsutism.

OBJECTIVE: The minimally invasive character, the possibility to perform under local anesthesia, and the ease to repeat have led to increasing popularity of laser-assisted treatment of pilonidal sinus disease. Hereby, potentially avoiding prolonged need for medical care at home, incapacity to work, and high expenses for patients and society. This retrospective, multi-center study is aimed at evaluating the feasibility of laser-assisted treatment for pilonidal sinus disease.
METHODS: The patient population is comprised of all patients undergoing laser-assisted treatment of pilonidal sinus disease at three Belgian hospitals between January 2017 and December 2021. Data were retrospectively collected. The primary endpoint was overall wound healing after one or more laser assisted procedures.
RESULTS: A total of 226 patients were included with a mean follow-up time of 129 days [7-1120]. The healing rate after one laser procedure was 78.8%. Some of these patients were healed by a second or third procedure adding up to an overall healing rate of 85.4% after one or more laser procedures. Wound infections were the main postoperative complication (8.0%) of which 5 patients required drainage (2.2%). For 29 patients (12.8%), laser-assisted treatment was insufficient, leading to a secondary operation (drainage, excision, or flap).
CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that laser-assisted treatment is feasible for pilonidal sinus disease. The minimally invasive character of this technique might make up for a higher non-healing rate compared to other techniques like flap repair. However, care must be taken that healing rate might be related to the presentation of the sinus and expectations should be lowered as presumed high healing rates are not always achieved.

BACKGROUND: There are many surgical approaches for sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) therapy, ranging from wide excision repair to less morbid excisions with primary/flap closure. The off-midline flaps, which shift the incision line away from the midline natal cleft, have been associated with lower recurrence rates than the conventional mid-line closure techniques. This single-blinded randomized controlled trial aims to compare the short/long-term efficacy and outcome of the slide-swing flap technique with the conventional secondary wound closure.
METHODS: This study was a prospective randomized controlled trial conducted on patients with PSD. Patients were assigned into two groups: secondary closure (control) and slide-swing flap (trial). Patients were advised to visit the surgical clinic two times weekly for the two weeks after the operation for at least six months.
RESULTS: In this study, 100 patients were enrolled. They were assigned into two groups of control, and trial. The mean age of all participants was 29.15 ± 8.36 years old (age range: 18-62 years old). The mean operation time was 39.65 ± 12.63 for both groups, with the control group being 29.70 ± 7.71 and the swing flap group 46.90 ± 7.81. Patient visual analog scale (VAS) scores in both groups revealed that the trial group was associated with lower VAS scores compared with patients who underwent secondary closure (p-value = 0.006). Also, the trial group demonstrated a higher rate of healing, better cosmetic outcomes, and quicker recovery time compared with the controls.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared with secondary closure, the slide-swing flap was associated with excellent cosmetic outcomes, disease recurrence, and recovery time. Also, the post-operative complications were significantly lower compared with the traditional method.

Bascom\'s cleft-lift procedure for pilonidal sinus disease under tumescent local analgesia is feasible and well tolerated with favourable short-term outcomes. We aimed to assess the 10-year treatment success rate after cleft-lift under tumescent local analgesia.
This was a single-centre cohort study based on prospectively registered perioperative data and survey data with additional data from electronic medical records. The cleft-lift procedure was performed under tumescent local analgesia in a day-surgical setting at a tertiary referral hospital between 1 July 2008 and 31 March 2014. The primary outcome was the 10-year risk treatment success defined as complete wound healing within 180 days of surgery or no recurrence assessed with competing risk analyses. Secondary outcomes were time to complete wound healing, persistent pain and cosmetic satisfaction.
Two hundred patients with complex pilonidal sinus disease were included. Indication was incomplete wound healing after pilonidal sinus surgery in 43 (21.5%) patients, recurrence after previous intervention in 78 (39.0%) or moderate to complex sinuses assessed by a consultant surgeon in 79 (39.5%). One hundred and ninety-five patients had complete wound healing within 180 days with a median time of 29 days (interquartile range 16-47). The cumulative risk of 10-year recurrence was 11.3% (95% CI 6.2%-16.4%) with a median follow-up time of 8.5 (1.0-10.7) years. Treatment success was 86.1% (95% CI 80.6%-91.5%). No significant predictors were associated with recurrence, and 90% of patients experienced no persistent pain.
Cleft-lift performed under tumescent local analgesia has an acceptable 10-year treatment failure rate, making the method feasible in a day-surgery setting.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the addition of laser to the endoscopic pilonidal sinus treatment (EPSIT), laser-assisted EPSIT (LEPSIT) has an effect on the method and clinical results in the treatment of pilonidal sinus disease (PSD).
METHODS: Between September 2019 and September 2020, patients who underwent LEPSIT and EPSIT procedures for PSD at Bursa Medicana Hospital, Turkey, were matched for age, pit location and number, body mass index (BMI), and sex. The primary endpoint was complete wound healing and the secondary endpoints were quality of life, cosmetic results, and cost.
RESULTS: Twenty-four LEPSIT patients were matched to 72 EPSIT patients. Eighty-one (84.4%) of the included patients were male, and the median age was 26 years (range 16-52 years). The median follow-up time was 9 months (range 3-15 months).Wound healing rates (LEPSIT; 95.8% vs. EPSIT; 93%; p = 0.99) were similar in both groups. In patients who underwent LEPSIT, the operative time (p = 0.00086) was significantly shorter, time taken to return to work (p = 0.03572) and wound closure (p < 0.00001) were significantly less. However, the time taken to return to daily activities and the percentage of wound complications were similar in both groups. The pain scores on postoperative -days 1 7, and 14 were significantly higher after EPSIT (p = 0.0083, p = 0.00054, and p = 0.0479, respectively). The postoperative analgesic requirement was significantly higher after EPSIT (p = 0.01492). The total hospital cost was significantly less in patients who underwent EPSIT (p < 0.00001). Significantly better cosmetic improvement was observed in LEPSIT procedure (p = 0.00694). First month quality of life (evaluated with the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire) was similar except for bodily pain (better after LEPSIT).
CONCLUSIONS: The success rates of LEPSIT and EPSIT are similar. LEPSIT results in better wound healing and patient comfort, and a shorter time to return to work.

BACKGROUND: Pilonidal sinus is a chronic inflammatory disease seen in the intergluteal sulcus. A wide variety of treatment modalities have been described for the management of this disease, however optimal therapy remains controversial. The study aims to compare phenol treatment, a minimally invasive method used in the treatment of pilonidal sinus disease, with the commonly practiced surgical methods of excision and primary closure in the adolescent age group.
METHODS: Adolescent patients who presented with pilonidal sinus disease between January 2018 and December 2018 were randomized into 2 groups as phenol treatment and surgical treatment (after obtaining consent for the study). Early complications and recurrence rates after 24 months of follow-up were the two main endpoints of the study.
RESULTS: A total of 100 patients (phenol group n = 50, surgery group n = 50) were included in the study. Both groups were similar in terms of age, gender, and BMI. The mean duration of the procedure was 12.4 ± 2.84 min in the phenol group and 42.3 ± 7.22 min in the surgery group (p = 0.00). There was no difference in postoperative complications between the groups (p = 0.22). After 24 months of follow-up, recurrence was found in 8% (n = 4) of the cases in the phenol group and 10% (n = 5) of the cases in the surgery group (p = 0.5).
CONCLUSIONS: In our study, phenol treatment and excision/primary closure methods for pilonidal sinus disease have similar complication and recurrence rates. However, phenol treatment seems to be the method of choice in the adolescent age group as it has the advantage of being a minimally invasive method and it does not affect subsequent surgical treatments.
METHODS: Level II treatment study.