Preliminary results from 28 cases of pilonidal cyst treated by excision and primary closure of the wound, reinforced with support suturing

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the results of the surgical technique of pilonidalcyst excision with margins and primary closure of the operative woundwith support suturing. Methods: Twenty-eight patients with pilonidaldisease admitted to a private clinic between 1999 and 2006 underwentsurgical treatment by means of an elliptical longitudinal medial incisionproportional to the palpable tumor size and excision of cyst with 2-cmmargins above, below and laterally, and primary closure of the wound.To reduce the tension in the operative wound, suturing was performed,with a single support stitch of horizontal U-shape. The patients werefollowed up for periods ranging from 6 months to 3 years. Results:Two patients developed abscesses at the surgical site (7.1%), andone required complete opening of the operative wound for drainage.Both underwent excision and primary closure again. The pathologicalexamination demonstrated that these were not cases of relapse, butof recurrent abscess. No cases of non-infected collection (seroma andhematoma), spontaneous dehiscence of the operative wound or diseaserecurrence were recorded. Conclusions: The technique of pilonidal cystexcision with margins and primary closure of the wound reinforcedwith support suturing seems to be attractive, since it is characterizedby low complexity and low infection rate. Studies with larger samplesare needed to validate this surgical technique.

Keywords

• Pilonidal sinus/surgery
• Cysts/surgery
• Postoperative complications
• Infection
• Suture techniques