Is Histological Examination Necessary when Excising a Pilonidal Cyst?
Unusual clinical course, Mistake in diagnosis, Diagnostic / therapeutic accidents, Educational Purpose (only if useful for a systematic review or synthesis)
Styliani N. Parpoudi, Dimitrios S. Kyziridis, Dimitrios Ch. Patridas, Apostolos N. Makrantonakis, Pavlos Iosifidis, Ioannis G. Mantzoros, Konstantinos C. Tsalis
4th Department of General Surgery, General Hospital “G. Papanikolaou”, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Am J Case Rep 2015; 16:164-168
DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.892843
Available online:
Published: 2015-03-21

Background:
Pilonidal disease is a common inflammatory condition mostly affecting young males. Malignant degeneration of a pilonidal cyst is rare, with incidence estimated at 0.1%. The most common type is squamous cell carcinoma and the treatment of choice remains en block resection of the lesion.
Case Report:
We present the case of a patient with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma arising in a pilonidal cyst, due to misdiagnosis of the disease during his first treatment.
Conclusions:
Detailed histological examination of all excised pilonidal cyst lesions is essential and any histological suspicion should prompt a wider excision.
Keywords: Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - therapy, delayed diagnosis, Pilonidal Sinus - surgery, Sacrococcygeal Region, Skin Neoplasms - therapy