Pilonidal Cyst

A pilonidal cyst is a cyst that develops on your tailbone. If it becomes infected and filled with pus, it becomes a pilonidal abscess, which looks like a large pimple just above the crack of the buttocks. Ingrown hairs most likely cause pilonidal cysts since it is common to find hair follicles inside the cyst. It’s most common in people under 40 years of age and occurs more frequently in men than women.

Symptoms include pain, redness, and pus leakage at the bottom of the spine, and fevers may result in serious cases of infection.

Treatment option

• The simple technique is incision and drainage of the cyst, removing the hair follicles, and packing the cavity with gauze. You’ll need to frequently change the gauze packing until the cyst heals.
• Marsupialization – This procedure involves incision and draining, removal of pus and hair, and sewing the edges of the fibrous tract to the wound edges to make a pouch. This method minimizes the size and depth of the wound without using gauze packing. However, it requires about 6 weeks to heal.

Dr. Shu prefers to remove the cyst and the tract with immediate closing of the wound. Gauze won’t be needed. It is performed under local anesthesia in the office.