Gottlieb M, et al. - Conventional incision and drainage (CID) are conducted as the primary treatment for most cutaneous abscesses, however, this is painful and can result in multiple return visits. An alternate, less‐invasive approach proposed for abscess management is the loop drainage technique (LDT). In this study, LDT has been compared with CID for skin and soft tissue abscesses. Assessment of PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, LILACS, Google Scholar, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and bibliographies of selected articles, led to identification of a total of 1,374 studies; of these, eight studies (n = 910 patients) were selected for inclusion. Outcomes revealed correlation of the LDT with decreased treatment failures when compared with CID.