Post by pilonidalstories.com on Aug 28, 2017 12:44:26 GMT
“Just a little encouragement… Especially for those people who have only heard horror stories about surgeries. So I’ve been having pain in my tailbone that felt like I fell on it since around age 12 (on and off). It was never serious enough to get it checked out and I was very active, so I thought it was some sort of alignment issue. My first major flare up was at 23, and I was in so much pain that I could barely walk. Long story short, it ended up rupturing on it’s own and I was horrified because there was so much blood and puss just pouring out of me.
I went to the dermatologist because it seemed like a skin issue in my mind and she told me it was a pilonidal cyst. She was like don’t do the surgery, it’s brutal. My husband has a pilonidal and he lives with it because a girl in the office had the surgery and she was out of work for months and still hasn’t healed.
So I basically crossed my fingers for about a year. I would get pain and draining on and off, but not as severe. About a year later I had a huge flare up and more sinuses had appeared. Little did I know it had tunneled even more and grown. I met with a few surgeons and did tons of internet research and was nervous because the surgeon I picked wanted to do an incision straight down the middle and then close the wound. Most internet resources discourage both of those aspects. He really sold me on it though. He told me that while leaving it open is good, it requires a lot more after care including packing it daily, which must be done correctly. I was like well isn’t it more likely to develop an infection if it’s stitched and then the infection is stuck inside? His response was that the chances of getting an infection are about the same for getting an infection in the closed wound, as they are for not properly packing and cleaning an open wound. It’s better to have it closed and covered and have no one touching it.
So I had the surgery and a month later I went to get my stitches out. (by the way the stitches were draining more fluid than I ever thought was possible.) He takes the stitches out and tells me it’s healing well, but I need to leave it open to heal the rest of the way and that it’s “not that big.” Ok when my mom and I finally got a look at it later we were like OH MY GOD this hole is huge. And like constantly draining tons of liquid. He was like no need to pack it, just cover it well. For a while I was like this is never going to heal. So I told him my concern and he agreed that some parts were healing slower than others, so I started to go to the office every few weeks and he would use silver nitrate to cauterize the wound. This was very unpleasant, but sped up the healing process a lot.
After a few months of that it actually healed and scarred. I was so grateful. It’s been about a year and no issues. I know sometimes people have the surgery and they later come back, but so far, so good. So the moral of the story is, yes do your research. But it is more important that you find a doctor you trust and who really seems to have logical explanations for why they are doing things. Which might be different from what you’ve read online. Also keep in mind that this is a very common ailment and it is often people who are in the worst cases that have a lot to say on the matter (as they should). But there are tons of people who are success stories who just don’t post about it because it’s over and done with. There is hope!”
I went to the dermatologist because it seemed like a skin issue in my mind and she told me it was a pilonidal cyst. She was like don’t do the surgery, it’s brutal. My husband has a pilonidal and he lives with it because a girl in the office had the surgery and she was out of work for months and still hasn’t healed.
So I basically crossed my fingers for about a year. I would get pain and draining on and off, but not as severe. About a year later I had a huge flare up and more sinuses had appeared. Little did I know it had tunneled even more and grown. I met with a few surgeons and did tons of internet research and was nervous because the surgeon I picked wanted to do an incision straight down the middle and then close the wound. Most internet resources discourage both of those aspects. He really sold me on it though. He told me that while leaving it open is good, it requires a lot more after care including packing it daily, which must be done correctly. I was like well isn’t it more likely to develop an infection if it’s stitched and then the infection is stuck inside? His response was that the chances of getting an infection are about the same for getting an infection in the closed wound, as they are for not properly packing and cleaning an open wound. It’s better to have it closed and covered and have no one touching it.
So I had the surgery and a month later I went to get my stitches out. (by the way the stitches were draining more fluid than I ever thought was possible.) He takes the stitches out and tells me it’s healing well, but I need to leave it open to heal the rest of the way and that it’s “not that big.” Ok when my mom and I finally got a look at it later we were like OH MY GOD this hole is huge. And like constantly draining tons of liquid. He was like no need to pack it, just cover it well. For a while I was like this is never going to heal. So I told him my concern and he agreed that some parts were healing slower than others, so I started to go to the office every few weeks and he would use silver nitrate to cauterize the wound. This was very unpleasant, but sped up the healing process a lot.
After a few months of that it actually healed and scarred. I was so grateful. It’s been about a year and no issues. I know sometimes people have the surgery and they later come back, but so far, so good. So the moral of the story is, yes do your research. But it is more important that you find a doctor you trust and who really seems to have logical explanations for why they are doing things. Which might be different from what you’ve read online. Also keep in mind that this is a very common ailment and it is often people who are in the worst cases that have a lot to say on the matter (as they should). But there are tons of people who are success stories who just don’t post about it because it’s over and done with. There is hope!”