Pilonidal cyst - for those of you sitting too much on the chair

[edyzmedieval]

Two good friends of mine have experienced them. Both waited to deal with it, a weeping growing abcessed cyst on the tail bone, till they could hardly walk. Looked like they were starting to grow a tail.

Both had surgery, wound left open packed with medicated gauze to drain, and were sent home the same day. Very painful. I changed the dressing for one of them once. I was shocked they sent him home like that. The opening was large enough I could have stuck my fist into it up to my wrist. I've seen deer shot during hunting season that didn't look as bad as that.

Don't know the cause, but I feel sorry for anyone who has to suffer with it.

Yeah, I know. I'm going to suffer the same fate in one month when I'm getting my surgery. Worst of all, in two weeks I have my final high school exams, and if the thing decides it wants to get out already, 12 years are going down the drain just because of some sweat glands and hair.

And afterwards im going to be stuck with a hole. I hope mine won't be too big. I will eventually get plastic surgery or hope that the tissue will rebuild itself...

[Hosakawa Tito]

Yeah, I know. I'm going to suffer the same fate in one month when I'm getting my surgery. Worst of all, in two weeks I have my final high school exams, and if the thing decides it wants to get out already, 12 years are going down the drain just because of some sweat glands and hair.

And afterwards im going to be stuck with a hole. I hope mine won't be too big. I will eventually get plastic surgery or hope that the tissue will rebuild itself...

It won't be fun, but you'll get through it all right, edyz. Don't fixate on the surgery, nothing you can do about that. Concentrate on what you can control, your performance on those exams. Good luck!

[pevergreen]

I know the 'pedia isnt the best source of info, but reading this thread got me kinda scared, but this on treatment from wiki:

Treatment may include antibiotic therapy, hot compresses and application of depilatory creams.

In more severe cases, the cyst may need to be lanced or surgically excised (along with pilonidal sinus tracts). Post-surgical wound packing may be necessary, and packing typically must be replaced twice daily for 4 to 8 weeks. In some cases, 1 year may be required for complete granulation to occur. Sometimes the cyst is resolved via surgical marsupialisation.[13]

Surgeons can also excise the sinus and repair with a reconstructive flap technique, which is done under general anesthetic. This approach is mainly used for complicated or recurring pilonidal disease, leaves little scar tissue and flattens the region between the buttocks, reducing the risk of recurrence.[14]

A novel and less destructive treatment is scraping the tract out and filling it with fibrin glue. This has the advantage of causing much less pain than traditional surgical treatments and allowing return to normal activities after 1-2 days in most cases.[15]

Pilonidal cysts recur and do so more frequently if the surgical wound is sutured in the midline, as opposed to away from the midline, which obliterates the natal cleft and removes the focus of shearing stress.

[edyzmedieval]

It won't be fun, but you'll get through it all right, edyz. Don't fixate on the surgery, nothing you can do about that. Concentrate on what you can control, your performance on those exams. Good luck!

Yeah, turns out the local doctor said I won't resist another month, so I'm off home. Thursday morning I'm getting it lanced if all goes well.

[edyzmedieval]

Lovely, got it lanced on Thursday and I had to sit 6 days in the hospital. So far so good, but no running or swimming for 2-3 months! Urgh...

[pevergreen]

Lovely, got it lanced on Thursday and I had to sit 6 days in the hospital. So far so good, but no running or swimming for 2-3 months! Urgh...

Like you needed an excuse to be lazy?

Glad to hear it went well though.