High patient satisfaction reported with hidradenitis suppurativa surgery

Patients had high rates of satisfaction and manageable pain after receiving in-clinic surgery for hidradenitis suppurativa, according to a study.

“Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition consisting of painful abscesses, nodules, sinus tracts and scarring with a predilection for intertriginous sites,” Saranya Ravi, PhD, of the School of Medicine at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues wrote. “Typical medical treatment includes antibiotics, hormonal therapies and tumor necrosis factor inhibitor, but surgery is often vital in treating recurrent nodules and tunnels.”

Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent surgical procedures for HS. These included deroofing or local excision.

Patients were asked to complete questionnaires regarding patient satisfaction, pain and recovery periods.

Surveys were completed by 78 of the 201 patients identified as having received surgical intervention within the study’s time parameters. The patients received a total of 194 independent procedures.

Patient-reported recurrence occurred in 41% of procedures however, despite this high rate, 76% o patients (148 procedures) reported being very satisfied with the results.

In addition, 84% (163 o194 procedures) reported they would recommend the surgery to a friend or have the surgery again (162 procedures).

Intraoperative pain was rated on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the worst. 31% (61 of 194 procedures), 45% (87 procedures) reported a score between 1 and 4.

First-week post-surgical pain was reported to be lower than 5 in 27% of procedures and greater than 8 in 32%.

Recovery time was measured by the number of days to return to work or school or to resume normal activities and for the skin to completely heal.

A median of 2 days was reported to return to work or school, while 10 days was the median for resuming normal activities. Complete healing took place in a median of 30 days.

The study’s inclusion of only one institution and low response rate were among its limitations.

“In this cohort study, patients reported high rates of satisfaction with clinic-based HS surgery,” the authors wrote. “Recovery was typically rapid, with most patients rating postsurgical pain as less severe than their HS pain.”