TREATMENT OF PILONIDAL SINUSES BY PHENOL INJECTIONS

Six female and 39 male outpatients, who suffered from acutely inflamed pilonidal sinus were treated by sclerotherapy between January 1985 an d December 1988. Under local anaesthesia, 1-2 ml 80% phenol was inject ed into the sinus. The phenol, which was allowed to act for a minute, was washed out by irrigating the sinus with physiological common-salt solution. Of the questionnaire sent to all 45 patients, 37 proved suit able for evaluation. Complete healing occurred in 22 cases (59.8%). Th e healing time was 6.2 weeks on average. Besides a rather frequently o bserved transient reddening as a result of the local inflammation caus ed by the phenol, 5 patients developed an abcess which needed operativ e treatment. This study does not support the encouraging results of pr evious series.