Evaluation of outcomes following surgical treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa


 Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a chronic disease of the apocrine bearing skin causing induration, pain, draining sinuses, and subcutaneous abscesses, significantly impairs patients’ quality of life (QOL). Full-thickness excision followed by skin grafting of the involved area can be curative. Herein, we evaluated the impact of this surgical treatment on QOL and depression symptomatology. Adult patients (≥18 y) who consented to participate filled out the dermatology quality of life (DLQI) and the Patient History Questionnaire (PHQ-9) at consent and at one, six, and 12 months post-initial evaluation and surgery. Demographics, HS, admission, and operative information were collected. Sixteen patients were included. Subjects were mainly white (81.3 %) and female (56.3%) with a median age of 38.2 [Interquartile range: 34.2-54.5]; 62.5% were obese (BMI = 39.7 [28.4-50.6]). Half of the subjects presented with HS in 2 or more areas. Six patients were still undergoing surgeries at 6 months. One-, six-, and 12-month follow-up surveys were obtained from 14, 11, and 8 subjects for DQLI and from 14, 9, and 5 subjects for PHQ9. DLQI scores significantly decreased at 6-month compared to baseline indicative of QOL improvement (10 [4-20] vs. 15.5 [12-21.8], p = 0.036). While not significant, PHQ9 scores tended to decrease. For those with the worst disease, DLQI significantly decreased at both six (p = 0.049) and 12 months (p = 0.047) compared to baseline. Despite a small sample size, our data suggest that aggressive surgical treatment improves the QOL of HS patients. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings.