“Pilonidal cyst is an extremely challenging condition. It’s painful, makes movement difficult and eventually throws life out of balance. Thankfully, the pilonidal surgery offers relief. Here’s the downside of pilonidal cyst and how surgical removal promises overall well-being.”
Dr. Allen Kamrava, MD, MBA has a healthcare facility in Beverly Hills. At his center he helps patients dealing with the challenging symptoms of pilonidal cyst. The treatment for pilonidal cyst includes non-surgical and surgical excision along with effective counseling for permanent relief.
Living with a pilonidal cyst can be quite a task. Its awkward location between the cleft of the buttocks poses a hindrance for gentle movements for day-to-day activities. The infection in the cyst makes it extremely painful. Slowly the symptoms grow out of proportion and begin to affect mental health and wellbeing. Pilonidal surgery is seen as an effective treatment plan to get rid of the unwanted growth.
Emotional Downside Of Pilonidal Cyst
The pilonidal cyst is often seen as an emotionally challenging condition. The impact of the condition is far reaching. It affects the body and mind in several ways:
Embarrassing Condition
Pilonidal cyst develops at an awkward location. It is a sensitive area in between the buttocks. This makes many people feel embarrassed talking about it. They refrain from seeking help and medical advice for the condition. The pain, swelling and the discomfort gets hard to bear with. At times it grows excessively in size and leads to an obvious bulge in the tailbone region.
Foul Smell And Hygiene Issues
Foul-smelling pus discharge is common from an infected pilonidal cyst. The condition becomes extremely uncomfortable to handle, especially in social gatherings and work places. The anxiety of a leakage adds to stress and lowers the confidence of the person. Repetitive cleaning and keeping the area dry and odor free becomes a huge hygiene challenge. It affects intimate relationships and social life.
Stress Of Recurrence
One of the biggest challenges is complete recovery from the condition. Pilonidal cyst removal surgery has a good success rate. But many feel anxious about the surgical procedure and go through repetitive cycles of incision and drainage to seek relief.
Body Image Issues
Once the pilonidal cyst grows in size, it creates an awkward bulge in the tailbone area. This becomes visible to the naked eye that can make one feel embarrassed. Wearing tight fitted clothes like swimsuits, tight dresses and pants becomes difficult. Body image issues have a negative impact on self confidence and emotional strength.
How Pilonidal Cyst Surgery Helps?
Of all the treatment options available for pilonidal cyst, the pilonidal cyst removal is the most invasive. It aims at removing the entire area that is infected and affected. This offers hope for permanent and lasting relief from the painful and challenging condition.
The surgical excision of the cyst is available in two ways – open wound and close wound. After the cyst and infected sinus tracts are surgically removed, the wound cavity is left open to heal naturally. To protect the wound from external infections, it is covered with sterilized gauze.
Alternatively, there is a close wound surgery wherein the opening is stitched together. Close wound surgeries have a faster recovery as the wound remains protected. But the recurrence rates are high in a close wound cyst removal surgery procedure.
The rhomboid flap surgery is seen as a great advancement in pilonidal cyst removal surgery options. It brings together all the advantages of open and close wound procedures. As the hollow cavity in a close wound procedure is seen as the biggest factor that contributes to recurrence, this procedure packs the wound cavity with a portion of healthy skin. Through skin grafting, the surgeon will carefully place a portion of healthy skin into the cyst cavity to leave no hollow space in the wound. The wound is closed with sutures and it takes up to six to eight weeks for complete recovery. Reconstructing the area using healthy skin from nearby areas lowers the risk of recurrence and promotes faster healing.
Regain Confidence With Pilonidal Cyst Surgery
The advantages of pilonidal surgery are far too many. The complete removal of the cyst is the only way one can get lasting relief. Unlike antibiotics and incision and drainage methods that are used repetitively and they only provide short-term relief, the pilonidal cyst surgery offers a permanent solution. The chances of recurrence drop down to minimum.
The physical benefits like relief from pain, no discomfort, and easy movements are obvious. In addition to these, the emotional downside of the pilonidal cyst begins to settle gradually. It helps in rebuilding confidence and one tends to get back to developing healthier personal and social relationships. As one gets back to undertaking daily activities with ease, there is an improvement in the quality of life. Pilonidal cyst removal surgery thus comes with life-changing benefits and is therefore a perfect solution to treat chronic and complicated cysts.
Final Thoughts
Seeking medical help for a pilonidal cyst is important. If the recurrence rate is high or there are continuing difficulties, pilonidal surgery offers great results. As the skill and competence of the performing surgeon are of paramount importance in the overall success rate, a top-rated colorectal surgeon becomes the obvious choice. Dr. Allen Kamrava, MD, MBA, can help you find lasting relief from the painful condition. Book an appointment today and know about pilonidal cyst treatment options available to better your life.
