SiLaT: A paradigm shift in the treatment of pilonidal disease?

BACKGROUND: Pilonidal disease (PD) is a common condition for which the global incidence is increasing. Surgery is the currently preferred approach to treatment but there is a growing interest in new minimally invasive techniques, such as sinus laser therapy (SiLaT). AIM: Our primary objective was to assess the efficacy of SiLaT for the treatment of pilonidal disease. The secondary objectives were to evaluate morbidity and patient satisfaction and identify predictive factors of success. METHODS: All adult patients, who underwent SiLaT in our department for a primary or recurrent pilonidal sinus from June 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020, were included in the study. Healing was defined as the closure of cutaneous orifices and the absence of seepage or abscesses. RESULTS: In total, 111 consecutive patients, for whom the male/female sex ratio was 2.1 and the mean age 28.8 (± 9.4) years, were included in this study. Eighteen (16.2%) patients had already undergone prior surgery for PD. The mean follow-up was 339.2 (± 221.4) days. A healing rate of 78.4% was observed, with a median time to healing of 20.0 days (15.0-30.0). The median time to return to usual activities was three days (1-7). The only postoperative complication was bleeding, which occurred for two patients (1.8%). Eighty-two patients (88.2%) reported being "very satisfied" with the treatment. Multivariate analysis showed no predictive factors for healing among the studied variables. CONCLUSION: SiLaT is an efficient and safe procedure for the treatment of PD, with a high level of patient satisfaction. It will now be necessary to position it within the therapeutic algorithm.

[Pilonidal disease: The revolution in minimally invasive surgery]. / Sinus pilonidal infecté : la révolution de la chirurgie mini-invasive.

PILONIDAL DISEASE: THE REVOLUTION IN MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY. Pilonidal disease is a common suppurative condition and affects 0.7% of the population. Surgical excision is the standard treatment. In France, the most common procedure is lay-open excision with healing by secondary intention. This procedure has low recurrence rates, but involves daily nursing care, long healing time and long period of sick-leave. Excision and primary repair or flap-based procedures are good alternatives to reduce these negative aspects but they expose to higher recurrence rates than excision with healing by secondary intention. The goal of minimally invasive techniques is to eradicate the suppuration, obtain healing as quick as possible, and limit the morbidity as much as possible. Old minimally invasive approaches such as phenolization or pit-picking are associated with low morbidity but with higher recurrence rates. Currently, new minimally invasive techniques are being developed. Endoscopic and laser treatment of pilonidal disease have shown promising results, with failure rates of less than 10% at 1 year, few complications and low morbidity. Complications are rare and minor. However, these interesting results need to be confirmed by better quality studies with longer follow-up.

SINUS PILONIDAL INFECTÉ : LA RÉVOLUTION DE LA CHIRURGIE MINI-INVASIVE. Le sinus pilonidal infecté est une pathologie fréquente qui affecterait 0,7 % de la population. Son traitement est chirurgical. En France, la technique de référence est l'exérèse, avec une plaie laissée ouverte, puis une cicatrisation dirigée. Elle a l'avantage de réduire le risque de récidive, au prix cependant de soins infirmiers quotidiens, d'une durée de cicatrisation longue impliquant un arrêt d'activité prolongé. Les techniques chirurgicales de fermeture ou de plastie visant à réduire la durée des soins sont moins contraignantes pour les patients, mais elles exposent à davantage de récidives que la technique ouverte. L'objectif des techniques mini-invasives est de simplifier les suites opératoires tout en limitant le risque de récidive. Les techniques mini-invasives anciennes comme la phénolisation ou le « pit picking ¼ exposent à un taux de récidive élevé malgré des suites simples. Aujourd'hui, de nouvelles techniques se développent, faisant appel, entre autres, à l'endoscopie ou encore au laser également utilisés pour le traitement des fistules anales. Les premiers résultats sont prometteurs, avec un taux d'échec globalement inférieur à 10 % à un an. Les complications sont rares, le plus souvent mineures, et les suites postopératoires sont simples sans nécessité de soins infirmiers. Cependant, ces résultats intéressants nécessitent d'être confirmés par des études de meilleure qualité avec un suivi prolongé.