Overview
Pilonidal sinus refers to a painful, abnormal, and uncomfortable skin growth at the cleft of your buttocks. It may not always cause pain but requires removing to avoid infections and complications. Surgery is the best treatment for removing the pilonidal sinus. There is still the risk of recurrence even after surgery and for this reason, it is important to identify the most effective treatment with a minimal possibility of recurrence. Besides an effective surgery, you also wish to have a quick recovery after the procedure. Different surgeries are characterized by different recovery times.
In this guide, we explore various surgical procedures for a pilonidal sinus and their recovery time. This information will assist you in making the right decision and choosing the right procedure.
Surgical procedures to remove pilonidal sinus
Closed wound
Once the surgeon has removed the pilonidal cysts in a procedure conducted under general anesthesia, he/she may elect to close the wound site with stitches. A closed wound heals in about 4 weeks. As you recover from surgery, your doctor will likely advise you to avoid engaging in your daily routine for at least two weeks. Make sure that you do not engage in any strenuous physical activity during the recovery period or at least until the wound has healed completely.
Open wound
After surgery, the surgeon can decide to leave the pilonidal sinus wound open, as opposed to closing it. An open wound permits the healing of the wound from the inside out. There is a need however to ensure the wound has been packed even if you undergo the recovery process. Besides, it is important to ensure frequent changing in the packing.
The success rate for closed wounds tends to be higher in comparison with open wounds. Patients with closed wounds are more predisposed to a recurrence of a pilonidal cyst compared with those who would have had their wounds closed.
On the other hand, the recovery period from an open wound is longer compared to a closed wound. Generally, open wounds take up to four weeks to heal. It means therefore that patients with an open wound may have to remain off work for nearly a month. During this period, patients are advised to avoid engaging in strenuous activities.
Unroofing
In this procedure, the surgeon makes surgical incisions at the site of the cyst. The surgeon is extra cautious to ensure that he/she does not remove the tissue in its entirety. During the procedure, your surgeon will often make an incision to open up the cyst. The surgeon removes the upper part of the cyst along with the sinus which has resulted in cyst formation. This is followed by careful trimming of the skin around the wound. Nonetheless, the surgeon is careful to leave the deeper cysts wall intact.
An unroofing procedure during pilonidal cyst surgery is characterized by a shorter recovery time in comparison with full excision. Most patients who undergo this procedure can resume work within 7 days of the procedure, however, it may take about 2 weeks to attain full recovery. The success of the unroofing procedure increases when the patient carefully follows the post-surgery care directions as recommended by the healthcare team.
Pit-picking
This procedure entails the use of a punching tool to make a smaller incision on the affected tissue. Pit-picking is a minimally invasive procedure as the surgeon is only interested in removing the body of cysts only via the small incisions made. In this case, the surgeon may elect to make either circular or lateral incisions. Additionally, the surgeon might decide to leave the wound open to aid in healing.
Alternatively, the surgeon may elect to close up the wound with stitches. The pit-picking procedure is recommended for both men and women with pilonidal sinus and who do not have weight problems. This is because there is an increased risk for pilonidal sinus recurrence for overweight individuals undergoing this procedure.
In addition, pit-picking tends to have a shorter recovery time when compared with conventional excision. Some patients have reportedly gone back to work in less than 48 hours of undergoing a pit-picking procedure for pilonidal sinus treatment. Also, the pain level following the operation tends to be very mild in comparison with traditional excision. However, a patient may require a few weeks to attain full recovery.
Laser treatment
This is a relatively new procedure for treating pilonidal cysts. This is a minimally invasive procedure whereby the surgeon uses laser energy to cut open the cavity and clean it. The same laser energy assists with the closing of the sinus and abscess. That way, most of the tissue that surrounds the pilonidal sinus is left intact.
The success rate of laser surgery in treating pilonidal sinus tends to be very high compared to other procedures with minimal risk of recurrence. The procedure takes less than 30 minutes and recovery time is also very short.
Some patients get to resume their daily activities the next day after surgery. To promote faster healing and full recovery, the patient should not engage in strenuous activity in the next few weeks after surgery.
Stop your suffering NOW
Don't just jump into a surgery because your doctor is advising you to go for it. Consult our doctors to know if you need a surgery at all. Rest assured, we WON'T recommend you surgery unless it's the last resort.
