Superabsorbent dressings with a contact layer of silicone in patients after surgery for pilonidal disease (results of a randomized trial)

AIM: to assess surgical results in patients with pilonidal disease with purulent fistula using postoperative superabsorbent dressings. PATIENTS AND METHODS: the prospective randomized study included 121 patients with pilonidal disease in the stage of purulent fistula, who underwent surgery (excision of the epithelial coccygeal tract with fixation of the skin edges to the sacrococcygeal fascia). In group I patients (n = 58), silicone-based dressings were used. In group II patients (n = 63), traditional dressings were used. The follow up was 2 months. The assessment included pain syndrome on days 3, 6 and 9 of the postoperative period, the presence of skin damage, the presence of subjective complaints of itching, burning, discomfort in the area of the dressing, the number of postoperative complications in the form of suppuration of the postoperative wound, dehiscence of the fasciocutaneous sutures. RESULTS: silicone-based superabsorbent patch-type dressings decreased unsatisfactory skin condition from 20 cases in the control group to 2, the pain syndrome was lower than when using adhesive-based dressings and was 1.3 ± 0.4 and 3.8 ± 0.8 points respectively. There was also a decrease in the number of postoperative complications from 20.6% to 10.3% in the comparison groups. CONCLUSION: superabsorbent patch-type silicone-based dressings improve the subjective sensations of patients, have less impact on the skin and wound surface, make removal of dressing material easier and reduce the number of postoperative complications.