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. 2025 Jun 14;410(1):193.
doi: 10.1007/s00423-025-03776-8.

Long term results and quality of life after primary excision followed by Limberg plasty in pilonidal sinus disease

Jenny König  1 , Utz Settmacher  2 , Aladdin Ali Deeb  2 , Oliver Rohland  2 , Felix Dondorf  2 , Astrid Bauschke  2 , Falk Rauchfuß  2 , Michael Ardelt  2
Affiliations

Long term results and quality of life after primary excision followed by Limberg plasty in pilonidal sinus disease

Jenny König et al. Langenbecks Arch Surg. .

Abstract

Background: Pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) is a frequently occurring condition that can have a significant impact on quality of life (QoL). In addition to severe pain, particularly with movement or while sitting, this disease imposes restrictions that affect one's professional and private life. These patients frequently suffer from recurrence requiring multiple interventions and hospital stays.

Methods: The study enrolled forty-seven patients who presented with PSD from August 2010 until June 2019 and underwent primary excision and LP at the Department of General, Visceral, and Vascular Surgery at University Hospital, Jena. Forty- one of these patients were questioned retrospectively in writing or by telephone interviews between July 2021 to September 2022. The data processed using SPSS software.

Results: The median follow-up for all patients was 86 months (range, 23-140 months). Only one recurrence (2.4%) was reported. While the participants' BMIs remained unchanged, they reported significant improvements in QoL, notably in five of the six activities of daily living that were evaluated.

Conclusion: The low rate of recurrence suggests that LP is an effective option for post-excision surgical repair of pilonidal sinus. The use of this procedure has no impact on patient's BMI but can significantly improve patients' QoL.

Keywords: Limberg plasty; Pilonidal sinus disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: The study was approved by the ethic committee (ethics application number: 4653-01/16). Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic image of the Limberg flap. Following the mobilization of the flap, it is being moved around the angle point A into the rhombic shaped defect. The corners that are designated with lower case letters are being placed at the respective corners of the defect that are designated with capital letters (b on B, c on C and d on D) [10].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flow chart of patient recruitment
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Median score of interview questions one to six of the Moorehead-Ardelt Quality of Life Questionnaire (MAQoLQII) in points pre- and postoperatively
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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