Once a diagnosis of tailbone-area pilonidal disease is established, when is the time to have to have surgery to treat or cure it? At our Center, we have established 5 criteria that each indicate that the “time is now” for our curative gluteal cleft-lift procedure. Here they are, in no particular order.. Okay how about…
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An accumulation of pus under the gluteal skin is a common way that pilonidal patients experience severe symptoms and present for medical treatment. This pus accumulation defines the typical “pilonidal abscess”. It is accompanied by redness and swelling of the overlying skin, in addition to severe pain and sometimes fever. Often, a nonspecialist surgeon or…
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Following all of our pilonidal cyst surgeries, we encourage sitting starting the first day after surgery. We recommend patients sit on a soft but supportive surface, exemplified by a quality office chair. Specifically regarding our cleft-lift procedure, this does not affect healing in a detrimental way; on the contrary, it augments healing by faciliitating the…
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Following our gluteal cleft-lift procedure, we encourage walking as soon as the first day after surgery. We prohibit heavy lifting (>20 pounds), strenuous bending, and squatting for the first 3 weeks following surgery. As the wound heals, beginning in week 4 and continuing to week 6, we gradually lift all restrictions . At 6 weeks,…
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Following our gluteal cleft-lift surgery, we recommend comfortable, loose-fitting clothing. Typically, patients go with sweatpants for the first several weeks after surgery. If the pants have a pocket, this can be convenient to hold the drain in an inconspicuous way until it is removed at the end of week one. Jeans and similarly fitted pants…
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Following both our gluteal cleft-lift and our minimally invasive MIPiT procedures, there is absorbent gauze lightly taped over the entire region. This cover dressing is meant to be removed and discarded prior to your first shower the day after surgery. Specifically regarding our cleft-lift, the fully closed incision is completely covered by thin glued strips…
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The gluteal cleft-lift procedure leaves a curvilinear, lazy ‘S’ -shaped scar which extends from the top of one gluteus muscle to the bottom tip of the tailbone. Particularly for males, because we do not recommend depilatory therapy (hair removal) of any kind, we actually encourage full hair growth to obscure the scar. Also, the majority…
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The gluteal cleft-lift at PTCNJ is not painful! Patients will almost universally agree that this curative surgery, although requiring a relatively long incision, brings less pain than a pilonidal abscess occurrence and certainly less pain than the emergency drainage of such an abscess. How is this so? There are 2 factors that explain this phenomenon. One…
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The gluteal cleft-lift procedure is a highly effective cure for tailbone-area pilonidal disease, with reported success rates of 95-100%. According to several landmark reports, the lower the pilonidal disease, i.e. the closer the disease extends to the anus, the more challenging it is for the pilonidal surgeon to deliver this success. This finding extends to…
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A pilonidal cyst is a sac-like pocket beneath the skin that contains hair and debris. The term originates from the Latin words pilus (hair) and nidus (nest), reflecting its composition. These cysts most commonly develop at the bottom tip of the tailbone, in the upper buttock crease, an area known as the gluteal cleft. When…
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