Aim: The influence of surgical craftsmanship and decision making on long-term recurrence rate has not been investigated yet.
Methods: A total of 586 patients with surgery for primary pilonidal sinus disease were subjected to a telephone interview 7-25 years after surgery to determine 10- and 20 year recurrence rate using Kaplan Meier Statistics.
Results: Results show that 546 patients had elective surgery showing a recurrence rate of 23.1% (actuarial 10.6-17% after 5-10 years). Forty patients had urgent off-time surgery with crude long-term recurrence rate 30%; actuarial 25.6-28.9% after 5-10 years); P=0.028; logrank. Mind bogglingly, Methylene blue application was dramatically reduced in the urgent group compared to the elective group, although Methylene blue is known to halve recurrence rate.
Conclusion: Surgical craftsmanship quality was identical in elective and urgent pilonidal sinus surgery with comparable long-term recurrence rate. Decision making was markedly biased in urgent off-time pilonidal sinus surgery, counteracting the good long-term recurrence rate enabled by proper surgical craftsmanship.