comparison of the surgical outcomes of minimal excision and elliptical excision techniques in treating epidermal inclusion cysts: a prospective randomized study

Background: epidermal cysts are mostly benign tumors with a dome-like appearance usually observed in the body, behind the ears, and in the cervical area. objectives: the study aimed to compare the surgical results of minimal excision and elliptical excision techniques in the surgical management of epidermal cysts. methods: in a 24-month period, from 2012 to 2015, 356 patients with benign, non-infected epidermal cysts were surgically managed with minimal excision (n = 178) or elliptical excision (n = 178) techniques. patient information, volume and place of the lesion, the length of the wound, the time of surgical procedure, and recurrence rate were evaluated using spss software at a significance level of < 0.05. results: the mean length of the wounds in the minimal excision and elliptical excision groups was 2.3± 0.32 and 2.7± 0.11 cm, respectively (p = 0.001). the mean operative time was significantly shorter in the minimal excision technique (6.4±2.09 minutes) than in the elliptical excision technique (11.3±3.35 minutes) (p = 0.001). there was no significant difference in the recurrence rate in minimal excision technique (2.8 %) than in elliptical excision technique (3.3%) (p = 0.065). conclusions: minimal excision produced a superior cosmetic result. epidermal inclusion cysts measuring less than 3 cm that were observed on the head or cosmetically important zones were optimally managed with the minimal excision technique.