Case 18 (2023): Surgical management of hidradenitis suppurativa

Ema Šutáková; Dominika Miklišová; Mirka Verbat; Julia Bartková

Journal of Plastic, Breast & Reconstructive Surgery·Casi chirurgici peer-reviewed e open-accessPeer-reviewed · Accesso aperto

Case 18 (2023): Surgical management of hidradenitis suppurativa · JPBRS

Case report

Case 18 (2023): Surgical management of hidradenitis suppurativa

Ema Šutáková, Dominika Miklišová, Mirka Verbat, Julia Bartková

Pubblicato 29 aprile 2023123 visualizzazioni6 min di lettura

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Abstract

Punti chiave di apprendimento

Consigli pratici

The patient was very satisfied with the esthetic result and came back to the clinic six months after the operation to have her inguinal lesions treated surgically as well, in this case the wound was closed by simple suture. She is planning to have her inframammary folds lesions treated surgically in the future as well.

Insidie

Management of hidradenitis suppurativa can often be unsatisfactory and challenging due to the chronic nature of the disease and its adverse impact on the quality of life. Hidradenitis suppurativa interferes with many aspects of everyday life, including work, sexual health and interpersonal interactions, mainly due to pain, recurrent suppuration, and odour. (4) The prevalence of depression in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa is 16.9% while the prevalence of anxiety is 4.9%. (7) Surgical treatment can significantly improve the quality of life of the patients. However, the recurrence rate is reportedly high even after wide surgical excision. It is still unclear which reconstruction method provides the lowest recurrence rate. (8)
Mind the difficult fixation of the dermoepidermal grafts in the axillae when planning the procedure. In general skin grafts may be complicated by graft healing problems and donor site morbidity and they may result in contractures, noticeable differences in color and texture with the surrounding skin and extensive scarring. (9) It might be necessary to release the graft contractures surgically if the patient presents with pain or discomfort, deformity or limitations in range of motion.

Patient history

A 59 year old female presented with chronic hidradenitis suppurativa in both axillae, lower quadrants of breasts, inframammary folds and both groins. She had a medical history of essential hypertension treated by angiotensin II receptor antagonists, hypothyroidism on thyroid hormone replacement therapy and type II diabetes treated by oral antidiabetic drugs. She underwent a hysterectomy in 2007. Hidradenitis suppurativa first occured in 2020. Considering risk factors, the patient denies smoking, but presents obesity as a significant risk factor with body mass index 33,6. She had negative family history of hidradenitis suppurativa. Female gender is another risk factor to be considered as this disease occurs more frequently in female with a female:male ratio 3:1. The overall prevalence of hidradenitis suppurativa was found to range between 0.7% and 1.2% in the European-US population. (1,2)

Examination

The diagnosis of hidradenitis suppurativa is generally made clinically. The patient presented with characteristic chronic inflammatory skin lesions including deep-seated nodules with discharging abscesses and fibrotic scarring in the axillae, upper lateral quadrants of breasts, inframammary folds and groins.

Pre-operative considerations

With limited data available on randomised clinical trials on the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa, a multidisciplinary approach including mainly dermatologist and plastic surgeon is key to prompt optimal disease control. A personalised treatment plan is usually constructed by dermatologist. An assessment by a plastic surgeon is proposed for selected patients with Hurley stage 1 and all patients with Hurley stages 2 and 3. The most commonly proposed surgical approach consists of wide excision of lesions and reconstruction with dermoepidermal grafts when primary closure is impossible. For obese patients (BMI ≥ 30 mg/m2), a consultation with a physician who specializes in nutrition is proposed. For patients with class 2 obesity (BMI ≥ 35 mg/m2), a bariatric intervention with a bariatric surgeon can be discussed. Female patients with clinical signs of hyperandrogenism or hormone serum abnormalities are referred to an endocrinologist. (3) Patients are advised to control their weight and refrain from smoking. The early stages can be managed with topical or systemic antibiotics or immunosupresive treatment, but the advanced stages mostly require surgical intervention. (4) Stage I is managed with topical antibiotic therapy, e.g. Clindamycin 10mg/ml twice a day for three months has been reported to reduce the number of abscesses, nodules and pustules. When topical treatment is insufficient, oral antibiotics are commonly used or a combination of topical and oral antibiotics. (5) Anti-androgen drugs are sometimes used in women, though the patient did not undergo anti-androgen treatment. Systemic immunosuppressives are recommended to patients with high stage disease with abscesses, extensive scaring and cysts. Adalimumab, an anti-TNFα monoclonal antibody sold under the brand name Humira has been used with good results. (6) Surgery is used in patients with stage III or stage II in those who have extensive scarring and are non-responsive to treatment mentioned above. Severe forms of hidradenitis suppurativa can often lead to severely mutilating procedures. Incision and drainage of acute lesions provide a rapid relief of the symptoms, but recurrence rates are close to 100%. (6) In patients with less extensive disease, local excision of sinus tracts, cysts and abscesses is usually sufficient and can be left open to heal by secondary intention. The patient was treated by antibiotic therapy for 2 years after the diagnosis with unsatisfactory response, so the decision to start biological therapy was made. She has been undergoing treatment by adalimumab inj. s.c. once in 2 weeks for about 8 months and she was recommended surgical treatment. In this case, more extensive procedure was required involving wide excision of skin in the affected areas.

Riferimenti bibliografici

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