A case report of hidradenitis suppurativa after subdermal excision for axillary osmidrosis

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory condition with an unclear etiopathogenesis that is considered to be a follicular occlusive disease. We present a case of HS that was suspected to have developed as a complication of subdermal excision. A 19-year-old man who had undergone subdermal excision due to osmidrosis presented 7 months after surgery with a persistent painful mass in his left axilla. Despite medical treatment, incision, and drainage, a painful enlarged abscess recurred in the left axilla and was cured completely by deroofing surgery. However, 15 months after subdermal excision, he revisited the hospital because of a painful mass in the right axilla. The patient’s condition met the diagnostic criteria of HS. After several recurrences, a cure was achieved by radical wide excision. Mechanical stress like that associated with subdermal excision is considered to be a possible etiological factor of HS. In addition, pathological changes at the sebofollicular junction allow rupture and leakage of folliculopilosebaceous units upon exposure to mechanical stress, which may result in the aggressive subcutaneous extension of inflammation. We suggest that HS should be considered in patients with a recurrent abscess after subdermal excision, and recommend surgical treatment as a possible option if conservative treatment is clinically ineffective.