Barber's Syndrome

Barber's Syndrome is a professional and rare disease that is caused by penetration of exogenous hair particules to interdigital web spaces. Retrospectively 50 cases of interdigital pilonidal sinus have been reported but only 15 of them are pronounced as Barber's Syndrome. This problem can also be seen in dog hair dresssers, sheep or goat wool workers Case: Thirty-one years old, male patient with the complaint of painful swelling and foul - smelling discharge of a little fistula opening at 2nd interdigital web space. Hair could be visualized in fistula tract. Patient had no benefit of using long time antibiotic medication. MRI showed us a 2x1,5 cm mass with heterogenous content. Primary excision of the mass performed under local anesthesia. No early or late (2 years) postoperative complications reported. Results: Barber's Syndrome is pilonidal sinus of interdigital web space and can be seen at men hairdressers as a very rare professional disease. Isolated antibiotic usage shows no benefit and surgery is the only choice of treatment.