Laser Surgery for Pilonidal Disease – A Novel Minimally Invasive Procedure

Pilonidal disease (PD) is a common inflammatory disease of the gluteal region with an incidence of 26/100000 and usually occurs in young males (15-30 years old). The etiology of pilonidal disease is unclear, but literature describes a wide range of factors such as keratin plugs, foreign substance reaction related to hairs, as well as dermatopathy and debris in hair follicles in the natal cleft. PD and also its classic treatment can cause discomfort and very much deteriorate the patient's quality of life. There are many possibilities (conservative or surgical) in the treatment of pilonidal disease, but there is no gold standard. In the acute phase (abscess), surgical incision with pus evacuation and antibiotic therapy is enough. In the chronic phase, there are many possibilities like phenol treatment, surgical excision with lay open and secondary wound healing. There are many reconstructive techniques such as Karydakis, V-Y flap or Limberg flap. A recently minimally invasive technique such as endoscopic surgical procedure or filling pilonidal tract with fibrin glue or phenol have been introduced. We present our experience with laser treatment (Biolitec, Germany) of pilonidal sinus disease.