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I am a 20 year old woman. I am not overweight. I am not hairy. And there was no trauma to my tailbone. Somehow, however I developed a pilonidal cyst. All of the reasons that they have for people to develop this kind of cyst I do not seem to have. I have reasons to believe that my case may be one of the rare cases where it is congenital. I did have a dimple, but it never bothered me, and I don't remember ever being without it. I am very worried that it could become inflamed again. When I went to the doctor, they administered me some numbing agent around the tailbone, and then drained the cyst with a needle. No gauze was used, or stitching, or extraction. Doesn't this leave room for this to happen by a greater percentage?
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I have had the surgery and I have had the lance and gauze packed in the cyst..... I've gone through both im almost 30 and still fighting this condition. Nothing works and there is no cure.... I'm left with scar after scar and no answers or relief
May 5, 2015 - 5:08pmThis Comment
I agree! Ive had mine lanced and drained more times then i can count and even had the big surgery with the open wound 5 years ago and it started coming back yesterday!
June 6, 2015 - 9:54pmThis Comment
I had the major surgery in 2000 and it has not come back. I think the surgery worked. I have had 2 occurrences one in 1997 the other in 2000. So it has been 15 years since my surgery. I am not sure which surgery I had but the Dr. told me that I would not have to worry about it coming back. But I have to say that the cyst was so painful THE MOST PAINFUL EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD! When I came out of the operating room I felt so much better. It was such a relief to have that cyst gone. I don't know the name of the surgery, but I would totally recommend it to anyone. I am 34 years old female and I am somewhat hairy I was not obese back then.
September 24, 2015 - 3:38pmThis Comment
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.
June 30, 2010 - 6:40pmThis Comment