Long-term outcomes of crystallized phenol application for the treatment of pilonidal sinus disease

• Published in: The Journal of dermatological treatment 2022-04, Vol.33 (3), p.1383-1390
• Main Authors: Dogru, Osman, Kargin, Süleyman, Turan, Ersin, Kerimoğlu, Ramazan Saygin, Nazik, Emet Ebru, Ates, Dervis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: crystallized phenol; long term; nonoperative treatment; Pilonidal disease
• ISSN: 0954-6634; 1471-1753
• DOI: 10.1080/09546634.2020.1818676

This study aimed to better demonstrate the long-term outcomes and effectiveness of crystallized phenol treatment (CPT) by presenting our 20 years experience. One thousand and twenty-six patients who have primer pilonidal sinus were enrolled. The operation was applied outpatient clinic under local anesthesia. Recurrence rate, application number, healing time, and factors affecting them were analyzed. The success rate was 84.3%. The mean number of CPT applications was 2.1 and the mean recovery time was 8.9 weeks. The rate of recurrence was higher in patients with a long disease duration prior to initiating treatment (p = .04). The rate of recurrence was higher in patients with a higher number of opening and CPT application, those with longer application time, and those with a positive family history (respectively p = .01, p = .002, p = .008). Long-term outcomes are also very successful in the treatment of pilonidal disease with CPT. We believe that CPT should be the first choice in the treatment of pilonidal disease because it is inexpensive, can be applied as an outpatient treatment, is a noninvasive procedure, has results comparable to surgical procedures, and does not cause loss of work and strength.