I Have not had surgery on my armpits. I had surgery on my groin. I had a big every removed ( tissue, skin, tracts , sweat glands etc). My doc did not close the wound bc the size of the wound. During my consult my surgeon restated what I already knew about HS,. talked about possible procedures and outcomes, and stated he will follow up with me in a week to discuss procedures.


For my recovery I used a wound vac to speed up the process of healing. At a certain point in my recovery, skin graft was considered but eventually closure of the wound was done with a skin flap ( i think that's what its called). recovery was painful bc it was my groin area.. I had wound vac for anohter procudeure and it was not nearly as painful having the vac on your groin. I have read many experiences on here about arm pits surgeries., Some used the wound vac, others had the area stitched up, or used wet to dry. I hope they all comment on your post, so you can get an idea what closure would be best for you. Everybody on here has different experiences with recovery. Some don't every get HS on the sites operated on and some do.... Sometimes HS can appear elsewhere on the body after operation.... Make sure you take care of yourself properly after recovery... A lot of us on here do numerous things to keep the HS under control. Having HS is like a second job... Please Please Please discuss with your doctor if there are other options beside what he describe to you. Why take the chance to close the wound if there is so many risk and complications.Think about and question him ( has he performed this procedure before , what success rate has he had,) Sometimes there are other procedures that can be done..I've come across surgeons who within seeing me for one minute tell me the plan of action they would take to solve my "problem" . Its not that easy when it comes to this disease. A lot of doctors do whats easiest for them. many don't consider other options that would enable their patients to have some sense of normalcy return back to their lives or decrease the rate of recurrence . I hope others who have had wide excision of the armpits share their experience with you. So you can form your own opinion on what would work best for you.... BEst of Luck :)

I have not had surgery on my armpits, but I have on both sides of my groin. A wide area of skin on both sides of my groin were excised and closed with my remaining skin. The wound was extremely tight afterwards. It was kind of like a thigh lift and a coochie spread all at the same time. Needless to say, it greatly limited my mobility afterwards.

Unfortunately, my HS never stopped. I found my first post surgery lesion while changing my surgical pressure dressings. I did not have a wound vac or any problems with my wound splitting open, but I occassionally felt stitches pop if I tried to take more than baby steps. My HS has come back both on and around my surgical scars as well as spreading to new areas of my body.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

With that long rant l did forgot to say (knock on wood) I have not have HS return where I had surgery. Its been over a year and a half. I still have issues else where *sigh*

I have had major excavations on both arm pits. They used skin graft to close because of the size. Skin graft is something I would not consider doing again; because out of 4 sites they placed the grafts, only 1 area took the graft. Ask him about a wound vac or leaving the area open to granulate & close on it's own. Also make sure he is aggressive when it comes to the surgery. If he leaves even 1 tiny sinus tract it will come back. Good luck!

I have had a lot of underarm surgeries since 2008 and I agree with Hazelwood117. Ask lot of questions of your surgeon and make sure he has done this before. Dont be afraid to ask him questions because this is serious stuff. also shop around for someone that knows what they are doing. Dont let them intimidate you into doing something you are not comfortable with.

My surgeon does not close any of the holes. He leaves them open and lets them heal from the inside out. He does this with all his HS patients. I have never had an infection and it takes me about 3-4 weeks to have them close. Lots of bandages, using hibiclens, and minimal use of my arm is what the recovery is all about. Three weeks ago I had 3 lumps removed and am patiently waiting for them to close.

Good luck.

I have had 8 surgeries, but none on my armpits. I have had some packed, some stitched, but never skin grafts. I had botox done under
my arms and I haven't had any more in that area.

How did the surgery to although I know it was 4 years ago. I have HS and having surgery on both armpits in August. The wound will be sutured also.

Don't have surgery, it is worst thing you can do. There are so many new treatments because they are researching like crazy right now. Humira is very effective for Hurley stage 2 and 3 but seeing a doctor that specializes in HS is so important. I have found some of the top doctor for HS are gynecologists as well as dermatologists. HS is genetic and thickens your sweat causing abscesses and the immune system over reacts so eating a high alkaline, low fat, low salt diet including a ton of probiotics and lots of water helps tremendously. It's not a clean thing, it's a genetic thing.

Ivehad this skin condition from when i was 11 years old im 32 now , I've had surgey 3 time now 1 in sept 2015 right armpit, the other in november 2016 and june 2017,left armpits this operation required a skin graft which will take around a year to heal, but I was told everything as heal perfect but around 3 weeks ago my arm got infected and red, on antibiotics with this, but a week go my arm as started to come open where my skin graft was placed, its so worrying and scary ive had to have it packed .