Audit of surgeries for pre-auricular sinus infection/abscess in a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Abstract

Background:  Pre-auricular sinus frequently present with recurrent episodes of  infections/abscesses causing severe discomfort and disturbance of daily activities, necessitating surgical intervention to eradicate the condition.
Aim: To audit the surgeries  that were done for pre-auricular sinus infection/abscess in University of Benin Teaching Hospital(UBTH) and the outcome of the surgeries.
Methods: This was a retrospective  study of all patients who had surgeries for pre-auricular sinus infection/abscess  at the UBTH, Benin City, Nigeria, between January 2007 and May, 2012. Data collected from the patients included gender, age, type of surgery done and outcome of surgeries.
Results: Fourteen patients with pre-auricular sinus infection/abscess were seen during the study  period at the Ear, Nose, Throat, Head and Neck surgery clinic. However only 9 patients, 8 females and 1 male, had surgeries for the condition. Ages ranged from 4 to 32 years, with an average age of 19.9 years. Six patients had excision of the sinus, 2 patients had incision and drainage(I&D), while the last patient had both I&D and excision. Excision of the sinus led to variable outcome in the patients.
Conclusion: Complete excision of the sinus tract is the treatment of choice for pre-auricular sinus. The standard method of excision is complicated by recurrence of symptoms and infection of operation site.

Keywords: Audit, Surgeries, Pre-auricular sinus, Abscess, Infection