The management of patients with pilonidal disease--a comparative study.

Patients with pilonidal disease presenting at Wellington Hospital between 1979 and 1982 have been studied retrospectively. Of 218 admissions, 113 were for pilonidal sinus and 105 for pilonidal abscess. Fifty-five sinuses and 82 abscesses were 'laid open'. Hospital stay, recurrence rates and costs were considerably lower in those patients who were laid open. It is suggested that laying open is the procedure of choice for patients with both pilonidal abscess and sinus.