Efficacy and tolerance of a new gentamicin collagen fleece (Septocoll) after surgical treatment of a pilonidal sinus.

Objective: Pilonidal sinus is common. It causes substantial loss of working hours. The major disadvantage of open wound treatment is the long time required for healing. Primary wound closure is on the other hand often followed by infection. A controlled, multicentre trial was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of a new gentamicin collagen fleece (Septocoll) combined with primary closure.

Patients And Methods: One hundred and three patients (88 men, 15 women, median age 30 years) were included. Fifty-one were randomised to gentamicin fleece plus primary closure (Genta Group), and 52 patients to open treatment alone (Open Group).

Results: The median interval to wound healing was 17 days in the Genta group and 68 days in the Open group (P = 0.0001, log-rank test). Two patients in Group 1 developed infection within the first two weeks, requiring reopening of the wound, with primary wound healing occurring in 73%. Failure of primary healing (27%) was usually due to seroma or spontaneous dehiscence which subsequently healed.

Conclusion: The combination of gentamicin collagen fleece (Septocoll) with primary closure resulted in a shorter period to healing than the open technique without unwanted effects.