Proceeding report of the fourth Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances (SHSA) 2019

The 4th Annual Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa (SHSA) took place on 1-3 November 2019 at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. This symposium was a joint meeting of the United States Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (HSF) and the Canadian Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (CHSF). This cross- disciplinary meeting with experts from around the world was an opportunity to discuss the most recent advances in the study of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) pathogenesis, clinical trials, classification, scoring systems, complementary/ alternative medical treatments (CAM), diet, pain management, surgical and laser treatment, and ultrasound assessment. A special pre-conference workshop was held on the use of neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser hair reduction, sinus tract deroofing, carbon dioxide (CO(2)) laser excision with ultrasound mapping and tumescent anesthesia for the treatment of HS. The focused workshops on establishing an HS clinic, setting up an HS support group, Hidradenitis Suppurativa PRospective Observational REgistry and bioSpecimen RepoSitory (HS PROGRESS), and wound care were held during the meeting. A special program called HS Ambassadors was established for patients who may have questions about the conference presentations and in addition, a meet and greet for patients and HS Ambassadors was arranged. To facilitate networking between those early in their career and clinical and research experts, a mentoring reception was held