Surgical Deroofing in the Management of Hidradenitis Suppurativa Alone or as an Adjunct to Medical Therapies.

BACKGROUND

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an inflammatory condition that remains challenging to manage. Deroofing is a surgical technique whereby the "dermal roof" of the entire lesion and sinus tracts are removed.

OBJECTIVE

A prospective study was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of deroofing in the management of both acute and chronic HS lesions in Hurley Stage I-III disease. The role of deroofing as an adjunct to adalimumab and the impact of deroofing on pain control and quality of life (QoL) were also quantified.

METHODS

Forty-four patients were enrolled in an open, single arm study treated by a single clinician. In total, 115 lesions were deroofed and patients were followed at 3 and 12 months after deroofing.

RESULTS

At 3 and 12 months, the recurrence rate was 10% (12/115) and 11% (13/108), respectively. Deroofing is an effective adjunctive treatment for patients on adalimumab. Deroofing also improved pain and QoL scores.

CONCLUSION

Deroofing is a safe and effective surgical technique that can be used for acute and chronic recurrent/fixed lesions in Hurley I-III disease alone or as an adjunct to systemic therapies. Deroofing has a low recurrence rate, reduces pain, and improves QoL.