Skip to Content
800-533-8762
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Health Care Professionals
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
UPMC
  • Find a Doctor
  • Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
      Allergy & Immunology Behavioral & Mental Health Cancer Ear, Nose & Throat Endocrinology Gastroenterology Heart & Vascular Imaging Neurosciences Orthopaedics
      Physical Rehabilitation Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Primary Care Senior Services Sports Medicine Telemedicine Transplant Surgery Walk-In Care Weight Management Women’s Health
      See all Services
    • Services by Region
    • Find a UPMC health care facility close to you quickly by browsing by region.
      UPMC in Western Pa. Western Pa. and New York
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Services
  • Locations
    • Locations by Type
    • Locations by Type
      UPMC hospitals
      Hospitals
      Physical Therapy
      Physical Therapy
      Urgent care
      Walk-In Care
      UPMC Outpatient Centers
      Outpatient Centers
      UPMC Imaging Services
      Imaging
      Community Health Centers
      Community Health Centers
      See All Locations
    • Locations by Region
    • Locations by Region
      UPMC in Southwest Pa. Southwest Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Northwest Pa and Ny. Northwest Pa. & Western N.Y.
      UPMC in West Central Pa. West Central Pa.
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Locations
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
      Patients and Visitors Resources Pay a Bill Classes & Events Medical Records Health Library Patient Information
      Patient Portals Privacy Information Shared Decision Making Traveling Patients Visitor Information
      Man uses mobile phone
      Pay a Bill
      Nurse reviews medical chart
      Request Medical Records
  • Patient Portals
  • Find Covid-19 updates
  • Schedule an appointment
  • Request medical records
  • Pay a bill
  • Learn about financial assistance
  • Find classes & events
  • Send a patient an eCard
  • Make a donation
  • Volunteer
  • Read HealthBeat blog
  • Explore UPMC Careers
Skip to Content
UPMC
  • Patient Portals
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Find a Doctor
    • Locations
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Services
    • More
      • Medical Records
      • Financial Assistance
      • Classes & Events
      • HealthBeat Blog
      • Health Library
  • About UPMC
    • Why UPMC
    • Facts & Stats
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Community Commitment
    • More
      • Financials
      • Support UPMC
      • UPMC Apps
      • UPMC Enterprises
      • UPMC International
  • For Health Care Professionals
    • Physician Information
    • Resources
    • Education & Training
    • Departments
    • Credentialing
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • UPMC >
  • Our Services >
  • Plastic Surgery >
  • ... >
  • Services >
  • Hidradenitis Suppurativa Surgery Program >
  • Frequently Asked Questions
Plastic Surgery
About Us
Services
Plastic Surgery Center
Gender Affirming Surgery
Hand Surgery Program
Hidradenitis Suppurativa Surgery Program
Life After Weight Loss Program
Nerve Disorder Center
Plastic Surgery After Cancer
Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
Regenerative Cell and Tissue Therapies
Making an Appointment
Preparing for Your Visit
Residency and Fellowships
Research & Clinical Trials
Our Experts
Patient Stories
Our Locations
Contact Us
Plastic Surgery
About Us
Services
Plastic Surgery Center
Gender Affirming Surgery
Hand Surgery Program
Hidradenitis Suppurativa Surgery Program
Life After Weight Loss Program
Nerve Disorder Center
Plastic Surgery After Cancer
Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
Regenerative Cell and Tissue Therapies
Making an Appointment
Preparing for Your Visit
Residency and Fellowships
Research & Clinical Trials
Our Experts
Patient Stories
Our Locations
Contact Us

Chat Keywords List

  • cancel or exit: Stops your conversation
  • start over: Restarts your current scenario
  • help: Shows what this bot can do
  • terms: Shows terms of use and privacy statement
  • feedback: Give us feedback
Continue
Chat with UPMC
RESTART
MENU
CLOSE

Hidradenitis Suppurativa Surgery Frequently Asked Questions

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, recurrent, and progressive inflammatory disease that causes sweat glands to become inflamed, resulting in swollen and typically painful bumps. The disease is also known as acne inversa or Verneuil’s disease.

HS affects approximately 1 percent to 4 percent of people.

The onset of disease symptoms usually occurs between puberty and age 40, peaking in the second or third decade of life. HS most typically affects patients between the ages of 18 and 29 years.

Although the exact causes of HS are debated, the following activities may be triggering factors for HS:

  • Smoking
  • Obesity
  • Wearing clothing that is tight or non-breathable

Those suffering from other medical conditions, including arthritis, severe acne, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, are also at a higher risk for developing HS.

Yes. HS is more common in women and people of African, Middle Eastern, and Asian descent.

HS can present with varying forms of severity. The Hurley clinical staging system classifies the disease into three stages:

  • Stage I (Mild): Abscess formation (single or multiple), no sinus tracts or scarring.
  • Stage II (Moderate): Recurrent abscesses with sinus tracts and scarring, single or multiple separated lesions.
  • Stage III (Severe): Diffuse or almost diffuse involvement, or multiple interconnected sinus tracts and abscesses across the entire anatomical area.
  • Stage I (Mild): Local care, topical agents, topical or oral antibiotics, abscess drainage.
  • Stage II (Moderate): Extended oral antibiotic suppression therapy, abscess drainage, excision of lesions.
  • Stage III (Severe): In addition to the above treatments, immunotherapy and surgical excision and reconstruction of the area.

HS is isolated to areas where apocrine sweat glands exist: the axilla (armpit), groin, buttocks, breasts, and perineal and anal areas.

The presentation and degree of the disease vary, both in anatomical location and severity. Generally, the earlier the age of onset, the more severe and widespread the disease.

Not every patient gets the disease in every anatomical location. In some patients, the disease is isolated to the axillary area, while in others, multiple anatomical locations are involved simultaneously. Involvement of more than one anatomical area is usually associated with increased severity of the disease.

Patients with a long-standing history of the disease may suffer from more severe symptoms, due to the disease’s recurrent and chronic nature.

Untreated or inadequately treated HS will eventually progress into more advanced forms of the disease. As HS advances and the symptoms become more severe, medical treatments tend to be less effective. Surgery is often the only option to treat advanced HS.

Surgical procedures to treat HS vary based on severity and individual patient needs.

Early stages of the disease can be treated with drainage of individual abscesses and cysts, followed by excision and removal of small involved areas. Removal of these areas decreases the amount of affected skin. However, this solution does not prevent new abscesses from forming in other areas.

There is no known medical cure for HS. However, the surgical team at UPMC offers a novel surgical treatment involving total removal of the disease in each anatomical area with almost no recurrence.

Surgeons in the UPMC Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery use an innovative approach to effectively treat advanced cases of HS. Our surgeons remove all skin and tissue affected by the disease and reconstruct the area using nearby, uninvolved tissue.

For example, if the axilla (armpit) is affected, a surgeon will completely remove all HS-prone tissue and skin from the area, leaving behind only clean and uninvolved tissue. The surgeon will then use the patient’s nearby healthy tissue to cover and resurface this anatomical area. Due to the lack of apocrine sweat glands in the nearby tissue, HS will not recur in the axilla. This is the definitive solution to clearing HS from any anatomical area.

Contact Us for Hidradenitis Suppurativa Treatment

We look forward to giving you long-term relief from hidradenitis suppurativa. To make an appointment with our expert surgeons, call 412-648-9670.

Our Locations:

UPMC Presbyterian
Falk Clinic, 6th Floor
3601 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-648-9670

UPMC Wound Healing Services at UPMC Mercy
UPMC Mercy Health Center
1515 Locust St.,
Suite 401
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

412-232-5744

UPMC
200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-647-8762 800-533-8762

Patients And Visitors
  • Find a Doctor
  • Locations
  • Pay a Bill
  • Patient & Visitor Resources
  • Disabilities Resource Center
  • Services
  • Medical Records
  • No Surprises Act
  • Price Transparency
  • Financial Assistance
  • Classes & Events
  • Health Library
Health Care Professionals
  • Physician Information
  • Resources
  • Education & Training
  • Departments
  • Credentialing
Newsroom
  • Newsroom Home
  • Inside Life Changing Medicine Blog
  • News Releases
About
  • Why UPMC
  • Facts & Stats
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Community Commitment
  • Financials
  • Supporting UPMC
  • HealthBeat Blog
  • UPMC Apps
  • UPMC Enterprises
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • UPMC International
  • Nondiscrimination Policy
Life changing is...
Follow UPMC
  • Contact Us
  • Website/Email Terms of Use
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Privacy Information
  • Active Privacy Alerts
  • Sitemap
© 2025 UPMC I Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit healthwise.org
Find Care
Providers
Video Visit
Portal Login