Clinical outcomes of crystallized phenol as a first treatment option in patients with recurrent pilonidal sinus.

AİM: This study aimed to observe the clinical outcomes of phenol treatment in patients with recurrent pilonidal sinus disease. MATERİAL AND METHODS: This study retrospectively collected data from 107 patients with recurrent the pilonidal disease who received phenol treatment in a single institute. Patients were divided into two groups as successful treatment (ST) and unsuccessful treatment (UST) after phenol application. A comparison was held between groups to define factors associated with failure treatment. RESULTS: There were 89 patients in ST and 18 patients in UST group. The treatment success rate after phenol treatment was 83.2%. We observed no difference between ST and UST in terms of age, gender, family history, surgical technique at the first operation, time to recurrence, procedure time, follow-up time, time to return to work, walk without pain or sit on the toilet without pain (p>0.05). However, smoking rate, presence of comorbidity, and mean BMI were statistically significantly higher in the UST group compared to the ST group (p<0.05). In addition, being obese (OR: 2.45, 95% CI: 1.07 - 5.60), having a comorbid disease (OR: 3.11, 95% CI: 1.29 - 7.47), and smoking (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 0.85 - 4.53) were significantly associated with treatment failure. CONCLUSİON: Phenol treatment is an effective and simple procedure that could be easily applied even in rural hospitals in an outpatient fashion. Therefore, it should be considered for patients suffering from recurrence without the need for an aggressive surgical excision. KEY WORDS: Crystallized phenol, Pilonidal sinus, Recurrence.