Effect of localized surgical excisions in hidradenitis suppurativa

A study is made of the effect of surgical treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa in 72 patients. All patients were treated with wide surgical excisions of localized lesions and primary closure in an outpatient setting. An overall complete cure rate of 14.7% was achieved. Another 7.4% experienced cure in the region treated, but subsequent recurrence in another region. Cure does not seem to be associated with the localization of the disease or preoperative duration, but the group of patients who were cured were significantly older at the onset of the disease (p < 0.001) than the group with recurrent disease. Patient satisfaction with excisional surgery was high, with 68% reporting surgery to be superior to other types of treatment experienced and only 6% considering it worse. It is hypothesized that the rapid relief, even if offered temporarily, in an otherwise chronic disease is the cause of this high patient satisfaction.