To evaluate the clinical and cosmetic results of our treatment of recurrent periareolar abscess.

Our technique was applied to 27 patients with recurrent periareolar abscess who had been previously surgically treated three or more times between January 2001 and December 2008. Our treatment combined resection of the fistula, the terminal milk ducts, and mammary gland involved in the inflammatory process. This was associated with glandular remodeling and a lift of the periareolar skin. Long-term clinical results and evaluation of cosmetic result are analyzed.

The median age of patients was 36 years and the median course of disease was 5 years (2–11 years). The duration of follow-up was 37 months. Before being treated in our service, patients had a median of four prior surgeries for this condition (3–12). The average hospital stay was 3.2±0.6 days after surgery. One recurrence occurred among the 24 patients reviewed. She was treated by excision of the nipple and areola. Six patients (25%) rated their outcome excellent and 13 patients (54%) considered their results good. Five patients assessed their overall result as fair (21%), and no patients judged their results as poor.

Our technique is simple and feasible and the results are encouraging. It can be used regardless of the location of the fistula around the periphery of the nipple-areola complex and it is perfectly suited to the management of chronic fistulous abscess.