Pilonidal Sinus Treatment
Pilonidal Sinus
A Pilonidal Sinus (PNS) is defined as a small hole in the skin which is found usually in the lower back or in the cleft at the top of the buttocks. The hole or tunnel may be filled with the pus and fluid causing the formation of cyst or abscess. The pilonidal cyst carries hair, dirt, and debris causing severe pain. Once infected, it may lead to discharge - blood or pus and foul odor. It is more common in men who usually have a tendency to sit a lot. Cab Drivers and the person performing sitting jobs can be affected by the Pilonidal Sinus.
A pilonidal (pie-low-NIE-dal) sinus also referred as the depression in the skin at the bottom of the tailbone. It is also called pilonidal sinus, pilonidal cyst, pilonidal abscess. It looks like a boil which occurs just above the crack of the buttocks. It is more common in men as compared to women. It occurs when hair punctures the skin and then becomes embedded.
Symptoms of Pilonidal Sinus:-
The most common symptom is the boil kind marks above the buttocks carrying an amount of pus. other signs and symptoms are:-
- Severe pain
- Redness of the skin
- Leakage of pus or blood from the opening of the skin
- Foul smell from the fluid
- When to see a doctor
Anyone facing the above-mentioned symptoms must visit the doctor immediately to get instant treatments and diagnosis to cure the disease at the initial level before it gets worse.
Causes of Pilonidal Sinus:-
The exact causes are unknown but there can be several reasons or combination thereof causing Pilonidal Sinus which are mentioned below:-
- Hairs puncture and penetrate the skin
- Friction, pressure, skin rub, tight clothing, bicycling, may force the hair down into the skin.
- Siting for long hours like driving or performing sitting jobs
- Changes in hormone (after puberty)
Sometime a person may have several sinuses that connect to the skin. Apart from the lower part, it may raise between the fingers. For example Barbers, Dog groomers, sheep shearers may get developed the Pilonidal sinus between fingers. The body considers this hair foreign and launches an immune response against it, similar to how it would react when dealing with a splinter. This immune response forms the cyst on your hair.
Risk Factors of Pilonidal Sinus
Some common factors are responsible to develop pilonidal sinus which is:-
- Younger aged Male people are more likely to develop pilonidal sinus
- Apart from this, People having obesity, inactive lifestyle, excess body hairs, stiff or coarse hairs may get pilonidal sinus
- People performing long hours sitting job may find the symptoms of pilonidal sinus
Complications of Pilonidal Sinus
If Pilonidal Sinus is not treated at the initial level, it may take the form of chronic Pilonidal Sinus and increase the risk of developing a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma.
Prevention of Pilonidal Sinus:
prevention is better than cure so always keep the buttock area clean and shaved. If you are suffering from obesity, better try to lose weight as possible. Avoid sitting for long hours. Talk a walk after every one hour.
People who have suffered from the pilonidal cysts earlier may be required to regularly shave the area to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.
Treatment Of Pilonidal Sinus:-
- Traditional Methods
The traditional method of treating the Pilonidal Cyst may involve creating large wounds which may take several weeks to heal. Be it a Traditional method or new modalities, the purpose would be to recover the Pilonidal Cyst by removing the entire cyst walls & content causing chronic conditions.
Usually, surgery is performed to cure the pilonidal cyst. It is done at the doctor’s place. The infected area is numbed with the help of local anesthesia and the small incision is made to drain the cyst or pus. If the cyst occurs, again and again, you may need a more extensive surgical procedure to remove the cyst entirely.
After going through the surgery, doctor may leave two options as per the situation and severity of the wound:-
Leaving the Wound Open: In this case, the normal dressing is done to heal the cyst inside out. This may take time to heal but it carries a lower risk to reoccur the cyst or infection.
Closing the Wound with Stitches:- The patient may get the wound healed faster comparatively. but it may carry the risk of reoccurrence of the pilonidal cyst. Some surgeons make the incision to the side of the cleft of the buttocks, where healing is particularly difficult.
-Latest Modalities
Laser treatment of Pilonidal Sinus: Stitches are more painful and may be time to consume for the patents to get recovered. Laser Treatment is done to cure the pilonidal cyst as it is an effective way of treatment. To treat the Pilonidal Cyst, Endo laser treatments are used. In which, no additional incision or wound is made. The only existing opening is slightly enlarged to deliver laser energy to cauterize the cyst walls, ending up with a tiny opening that requires minimal post-operative care. The whole process requires less than half hour and using local anesthesia or short anesthesia. Better to get treatment via laser surgery as it has many advantages over traditional surgeries which are:-
- Fast recovery
- Quick and painless treatments
- Resume normal activities with 24 hours
- No diet restrictions
- No repeated Doctor visits
- Can be done for all age groups
You can consult proctologist in Gurgaon can be contacted to get Laser treatment of Pilonidal sinus.