Manuka Honey Versus Wet to Dry Dressing for Wound Closure Time After Open Pilonidal Sinus Surgery

Background: Sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus disease is a very common chronic inflammation of the natal cleft that presents frequently as an abscess. Management requires the eradication of the sinus tract and postoperative wound care. Manuka honey (Medihoney) was used in acute and chronic wounds. In our study, we sought to investigate the clinical effectiveness of Manuka honey in decreasing wound healing time post excision. Material and Methods: We describe patients’ characteristics using traditional descriptive statistics. We compared the study endpoint (wound closure time) in patients who received Medihoney versus those who did not by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results: A total of 119 patients underwent pilonidal cyst surgery between the years 2017 and 2018. The median time for healing in the Medihoney group was 40 days compared with 39 days in the control group. After adjusting for age, BMI, wound length, wound volume, smoking and operative time, the time to healing in the Medihoney group was significantly less compared to the group not receiving the treatment (Hazard Ratio 1.56, 95% Confidence interval 1.02- 2.49, p= 0.041). Conclusion: Postoperative use of Manuka honey showed a significant decrease in wound healing time when compared to gauze fabric dressings. Further research would be beneficial to explore optimal treatment protocols for this dressing technique.