Follicle removal and lateral incision in the treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus

This study was done between April 1995 and November 1998 on 42 patients [27 males and 15 females] with symptomatic sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease. The patients had follicle removal and lateral incision under general anesthetic as a day case whenever possible. A lateral incision was used to scrub the wall of the abscess cavity, then closed primarily. Midline wounds were left open. The results indicated that wound healing time had a median of three weeks [range 2-8 weeks]. The median time taken off work was two weeks [range 1-8 weeks]. Four patients were lost during follow up beyond three months. Thirty-eight patients had a median follow up of 21 months [range 12-36 months]. A recurrence occurred in two patients