Background:
Pyogenic granuloma are benign vascular lesions of the skin that can arise spontaneously or following injury, but can cause significant morbidity in the form of pain and frequent bleeding. There are a variety of available treatments for pyogenic granuloma including conservative management, medical, topical and surgical intervention. A review of the literature has revealed a paucity of published data relating to aetiology and incidence of this condition, particularly in the anatomical constraints of the hand. Furthermore, post surgical outcomes are poorly reported.
Methods:
A retrospective exploratory study looking at 5 years of electronic data of documented coded cases of digital pyogenic granuloma in the plastic surgery and hands unit at Counties Manakau will be performed, with the aim of clarifying incidence, prevalence and post-surgical outcomes. This study proforma is currently pending locality approval and Health and Disability Ethics Committee approval has been sought. Planned data collection includes relative risk factors such as smoking and pregnancy as well as general data including ethnicity to assess relative prevalence. Equity of outcomes will be assessed.
Results: Based on results collected, data on ascertaining surgical recurrence rate as well as complication rates will be scrutinized.
Conclusion: Pyogenic granulomas are lesions frequently referred into the acute trauma stream and thus, surgical excision is sometimes preferentially offered to our patients. We hope this study will shed light on current practice at Counties Manakau as well as providing clinicians with an evidence base for counselling potential patients for surgery about the risks and benefits of opting for surgical excision of their lesion.