Staged Crystalized Phenol Treatment in Pilonidal Disease: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Background: In recent years, minimally invasive techniques with less tissue excision, rather than surgical treatments including wide tissue excisions, are preferred in the surgical treatment of pilonidal sinus. Crystallized phenol treatment is a widely used minimally invasive method. The aim of this study is to examine the results of applying crystallized phenol in a two-stage manner. Material and Methods: In this study, demographic information, pilonidal sinus characteristics, and results of crystallized phenol treatment of primary pilonidal sinus patients treated with crystallized phenol at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Education and Research Hospital General Surgery Clinic between January 2016 and July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The average age of 185 patients who underwent phenol treatment for pilonidal sinus was 26.75±6.21 years. 53.2% of the patients were ≤25 years old. 80.5% of the patients were male. 65.0% of all patients had a BMI <30 kg/m2. The follow-up period for patients was 31 months (min 6, max 60). The patients had 1-3 pits. In the final evaluation of patients who received crystallized phenol treatment twice, abscesses developed in 3 patients (1.6%) and recurrences occurred in 8 patients (4.3%). A statistically significant relationship was found between age and recurrence (p=0.027) and between BMI and recurrence (p=0.003). The incidence of recurrence increased significantly as the number of pits increased (p<0.001). Conclusions: In our study, we did not encounter any serious complications with the application of crystallized phenol in two stages. We observed that our patients returned to their routine lives painlessly in the early period and that our recurrence rates were low. Based on our findings, we can say that the application of crystallized phenol as a minimal invasive procedure is still a safe and valid method for the treatment of pilonidal sinus.