ask: What is the probability that my Pilonidal Cyst will reoccur?

Anon - A pilonidal condition may be congenital or acquired. If congenital, it probably began as a defect that existed when you were born. Sometime later, the defect allowed an infection to develop. If acquired, it may be the enlargement of a simple hair follicle infection or the result of a hair penetrating the skin and causing an infection.

It sounds like the procedure your doctor used was incision and drainage. In this procedure the abscess is sliced, the pus drained, and the wound is packed with sterile gauze. This helps it heal from the inside out but this usually does not cure the problem because abnormal tissue remains.

To completely cure the condition, all affected tissue needs to be removed. This is a more extensive surgical procedure than simple incision and drainage. The surgical wound may be closed with sutures or left open to heal from the inside.

There are some preventive measures to can take to try to reduce your chance of getting a pilonidal abscess:

* Keep the area clean and dry.
* Avoid sitting for a long time on hard surfaces.
* Remove hair from the area.

We hope this information has been helpful.

I am 24 year old woman and have a very similar story. It is very frustrating going online to find more info. The info you find is that you are generally an overweight, hairy, and a male to develop this. The first drainage I had was in Oct/2010, I had another one within a month of that. Then about 6 months went by and I had no re-occurrences. At the end of March I had to go back for a 3rd time where they drained it and packed it again. Now we are in June and I am have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow to have it drained AGAIN! I would say that it will unfortunatly prob come back. I was told this is a "Condition" that I developed at birth. Like you I am not "obese", or "Hairy". I am worried that this keeps happening. I go to a dept of colorectoral surgery and they do not believe in that actual "Surgery" where the remove the entire thing because in some cases it can come back again ANYWAY. I can't imagine going thru a major surgery and having this thing come back. It is a painful procedure to have it drained. However, it closes within a few weeks, is the size of a penny but maybe an inch deep. I am REALLY hoping this is the last time I have to go thru this, but I am not holding my breath. Good Luck to you.

Im 23yrs old. I am a female. I got my first inflammation at the top of my butt when i was 18. It got so bad that i could barely walk or sit down. I had to sleep on my stomach. For about a week or so I lived in agony. I didnt think to go to the doctor because it was embarrassing. It drained on its own when i was at school! i had no idea what had happen but i went to the doctor and they just said it was an abcest. I looked it up online and found out for myself that i had a pilonidal cyst. Since then i get an inflammation every few months sometimes longer if im lucky. I keep clean, but it usually corrisponds to major stress or my period. I take really hot showers to soften the skin and apply neosporin to the infected area. Within a couple days it pops on its own and i put more neosporin on it and then it goes "dormant" again. i though about the surgury too but if it doesnt work whats the point. I think i'll just keep doing what im doing, it seems to work. I've only told one friend about my condition, I thought i was the only one with this weird butt problem, but we're not alone. I hoped i helped someone out there.

I just so happened to come to your discussion, I wonder where you are at now? I am a 24 year old woman, not hairy or obese. I had a cyst four years ago that my doctor suggested I have surgery for. I did just that. I have not had any problems since then. My cyst was so bad, I could not put any pressure on that area. I had no idea about pilonidal cysts, I didnt even notice that I had eight little holes on the top of my butt crack! I am really glad I had the surgery. Undergoing the surgery sure out weighs dealing with flare up every few months.