Treatment of persistent painful nodules of hidradenitis suppurativa with cryotherapy

We report outcomes for 10 patients with persistent painful nodules of hidradenitis suppurativa treated with cryotherapy. Eight patients reported improvement and to date have had no recurrence of lesions at the treated sites. Most patients had significant pain during and after treatment. Eight patients had post-treatment ulceration, infection or both. The average number of days for the treatment areas to heal was 25. Seven patients rated cryotherapy as better than oral antibiotics and eight patients would consider this treatment again in the future. Cryotherapy can be an effective treatment for patients who have limited but persistent painful nodules. However, patients must be warned about pain, prolonged healing time and risk of infection after the procedure.