Treatment of pilonidal sinus by phenol application and factors affecting the recurrence

Abstract Background Phenol injection, a less invasive method, has become more popular for the treatment of sinus pilonidalis. Recurrence rates after the use of phenol have been reported to be less than those after other surgical methods. Methods In this study, we applied 80% phenol to 143 patients with sinus pilonidalis. Patients were reevaluated at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after the phenolization procedure to search for any recurrences. Age, sex, skin color, occupation, hair distribution, complaints, macroscopic characteristics of the lesion, pouch volume, microbiological yield, complications of phenol injection, healing time, and recurrences were determined. Results The mean follow-up period was 24 months and the recurrence rate was 8.3% (12 of 143 patients). Volume of the sinus tract and number of sinus orifices were determined to be the factors significantly affecting recurrences (p<0.05). Conclusions Injection of 80% phenol is an ideal approach for the conservative treatment of sinus pilonidalis. This study confirms that this is an effective and costless method with low recurrence rates.