title: Recurrent pilonidal disease surgery: Is it second primary or reoperative surgery?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) effects mainly young men's social and work life with frequent recurrence rate. Reoperation for unimproved or recurrent disease is somehow troublesome. Surgeons may think that changing treatment strategy after recurrence may prevent further relapses of PSD. We analyzed patients with recurrent pilonidal sinus to determine their predisposing features for recurrence and the outcomes of the preferred surgical methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 2007 to 2012, out of 95 recurrent pilonidal sinus disease (rPSD) patients, 62 operated cases were included and examined retrospectively. Their retrospective data were examined for demographics, 1(st) and 2(nd) operation types, patient satisfaction and pain scores. For cases with insufficient preoperative or postoperative data, phone call and interviews were done to obtain data. Some were kindly invited to the outpatient examination. Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kaplan Meier test for disease free survival time were used where appropriate. P values less than 0.05 were accepted to be statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total of 62 rPSD patients were examined. Male:female ratio was 2.9:1. The mean age after 1(st) and 2(nd) operations were 24.7 and 28.1 years, respectively. One and five-year recurrence rates were 33.9% and 66.1%, respectively. The mean interval between the 1(st) and 2(nd) operations was 45.6 months. Excision and midline closure was the most frequent type of operation followed by flap reconstructions and excision-lay open procedures. The 1(st) operation types of rPSD cases were different from that of 2(nd) operations. Pain perception and satisfaction scores were better in flap reconstruction groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reoperative surgery of rPSD is satisfactory with certain precautions. Relapses after flap reconstruction procedures with a well-being period should be referred as second primary disease. Changing surgical strategy is not always indicated as some patients with recurrence have relapsing or second primary disease that have distinct clinical course. Re-flap surgery after any kind of relapse is well appreciated.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of General Surgery, Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet Deniz
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Uçar
authors.affiliation: Clinic of General Surgery, Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erdem Barış
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Cartı
authors.affiliation: Clinic of General Surgery, Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oymacı
authors.affiliation: Clinic of General Surgery, Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarı
authors.affiliation: Clinic of General Surgery, Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Savaş
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yakan
authors.affiliation: Clinic of General Surgery, Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yıldırım
authors.affiliation: Clinic of General Surgery, Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nazif
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Erkan
keywords: Recurrent; pilonidal; reoperation; surgery