OBJECTIVE: Sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus is common in young men and may recur over time after surgery. We investigated whether a factor exists that can aid in the determination of the preferred technique between the early Limberg flap and Karydakis flap techniques for treating recurrent pilonidal sinus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective and randomized study enrolled 71 patients with recurrent pilonidal sinus in whom the Limberg flap or Karydakis flap techniques were applied for reconstruction after excision. Patients were divided into two groups as follows: 37 patients were treated with the Limberg flap technique and 34 patients were treated with the Karydakis flap technique. Fluid collection, wound infection, flap edema, hematoma, partial wound separation, return to daily activities, pain score, complete healing time, painless seating and patient satisfaction were compared between the groups. ClinicalTrial.gov: NCT02287935. RESULTS: The development rates of total fluid collection, wound infection, flap edema, hematoma, and partial wound separation were 9.8%, 16%, 7%, 15% and 4.2%, respectively; total flap necrosis was not observed in any patient (p<0.001). During the average follow-up of 28 months, no patients (0%) developed recurrent disease. The two groups differed with respect to early surgical complications (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, use of the Limberg flap was associated with lower complication rates, shorter length of hospital stay, early return to work, low pain score, high patient satisfaction and better complete healing duration. Therefore, we recommend the Limberg flap for treatment of recurrent pilonidal sinus.

OBJECTIVES:Vardenafil enhances dilatation of vascular smooth muscle and inhibits platelet aggregation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of vardenafil and pentoxifylline administration in an experimental model of ischemic colitis.METHODS:Forty female Wistar albino rats weighing 250-300 g were randomized into five experimental groups (each with n = 8) as follows:1) a sham group subjected to a sham surgical procedure and administered only tap water; 2) a control group subjected to a standardized surgical procedure to induce ischemic colitis and administered only tap water; 3) and 4) treatment groups subjected to surgical induction of ischemic colitis followed by the postoperative administration of 5 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg vardenafil, respectively; and 5) a treatment group subjected to surgical induction of ischemic colitis followed by postoperative administration of pentoxifylline at 50 mg/kg/day per day as a single dose for a 3-day period. All animals were sacrificed at 72 h post-surgery and subjected to relaparotomy. We scored the macroscopically visible damage, measured the ischemic area and scored histopathology to determine the severity of ischemia. Tissue malondialdehyde levels were also quantified.RESULTS:The mean Gomella ischemic areas were 63.3 mm2 in the control group; 3.4 and 9.6 mm2 in the vardenafil 5 and vardenafil 10 groups, respectively; and 3.4 mm2 in the pentoxifylline group (p= 0.0001). The mean malondialdehyde values were 63.7 nmol/g in the control group; 25.3 and 25.6 nmol/g in the vardenafil 5 and vardenafil 10 groups, respectively; and 22.8 nmol/g in the pentoxifylline group (p= 0.0001).CONCLUSION:Our findings indicate that vardenafil and pentoxifylline are effective treatment options in an animal model of ischemic colitis. The positive clinical effects produced by these drugs are likely due to their influence on the hemodynamics associated with vascular smooth muscle and platelet functions.