The treatment of pilonidal sinus by phenol injection.

INTRODUCTION THE purpose of this survey was to establish whether the treatment of pilonidal sinus by a conservative method, viz. by the injection of phenol, was sufficiently successful to warrant using it routinely. Pilonidal sinus-is a relatively minor surgical condition, although not all patients would regard it in this light. It is most often treated by radical operation which usually involves a lengthy stay in hospital and considerable time off work. While not quite analogous to using a 'sledge-hammer to crack a nut', it still would appear to be a time consuming method for the routine treatment of the condition. Many different techniques have been tried but the most usual way of dealing with this condition is by excision and saucerization, leaving the wound to slowly granulate; more recently, excision followed by primary suturing has also been popular. While these methods can be very successful post-operative treatment is prolonged and a surgical hospital bed is blocked perhaps for several weeks. Mainly for this reason it was decided that a more conservative procedure should be tried which would mean a much shorter stay in hospital, early return to work and also, one hoped, give equally good results.