BACKGROUND: This study intends to analyse and compare several surgical procedures described for the treatment of pilonidal disease. METHODS: Thirty-four published articles were selected, totalizing 8698 surgically treated patients. A meta-analysis was performed to compare seven main surgical techniques described in literature, in terms of recurrence rates and postoperative healing time. RESULTS: From the total number of patients, 230 of them (2,6%) presented with recurrences. The postoperative healing time was significantly longer in the group of excision without suture. The recurrence rate was statistically similar between the following techniques: excision without suture, marsupialization, incision and curettage, excision with flap and the Karidakys procedure. Procedures that had higher rates of recurrence (statistically significant - p<0,001) were the excision with primary suture and the Bascom procedure. CONCLUSION: This study concludes that the results in terms of recurrence rate are statistically similar between most procedures, with the exception of excision with primary suture and the Bascom procedure. The healing time was higher in the patients treated by excision without suture.
Pilonidal cyst; Pilonidal disease; Marsupialization; Sacral abscess; Incision; curettage
