Rapid resolution of hidradenitis suppurativa after bariatric surgical intervention

We report the case of a 52-year-old man who underwent rapid improvement of long-standing treatment-refractory hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) following bariatric surgical intervention and subsequent dramatic weight loss. This morbidly obese man had previously shown little response to multiple treatment avenues, including an extended course of antibiotic therapy and treatment with acitretin. He had developed marked genital lymphoedema consequential to HS, which had further complicated his HS treatment. However, his disease regressed significantly within weeks of undergoing laparoscopic gastric sleeve surgery, and the HS activity has remained quiescent for over 1year since the bariatric intervention. This supports the role for obesity in the pathophysiology of HS, and highlights the importance of adequately addressing lifestyle factors in the treatment of HS. Click for the corresponding questions to this CME article.