Resources for Medical Professionals
This site was originally intended for those suffering from Pilonidal Disease, however, over the years it has also become a major resource for those in the medical profession seeking information. Our Library lists every published study that we have in the “Pilonidal Physicians’ library”
This organization is committed to changing the incorrect perception that a Pilonidal is cyst that needs deep and wide excision. Pilonidals are abscesses, not true cysts. Pathologists and surgeons on rare occasions find the sac is lined with epidermis, made up of cells from skin, but only cells from the outer layer of skin. That outer layer, which we call epidermis, contains no follicles. Pathologists find epidermis lines the sac only in rare late cases where epidermis has crept into a long-standing abscess in an attempt to heal it. They never find a sac lined with intact skin and follicles, only an occasional sac lined with epidermis.
With this in mind, deep and excision, as is commonly thought, is not the most effective treatment for Pilonidal. Newer techniques spare the need for extensive tissue removal and the potential for unhealed wounds. The skin and the tissue are not the problem to be solved by removal. The problem is depth of the gluteal fold and the pits in the midline that exist in an environment with no oxygen and full of anaerobic bacteria.
Cleft Lift Surgical Instruction Video:
by Dr. John Bascom & Dr. Tom Bascom.
Below are movies demonstraing the cleft lift surgery in and the techniques pioneered by Dr. s John & Tom Bascom. The doctors provide commentary on techniques and the philology behind them.
Download the higher-resolution video 9 min. (.mp4/200MB)
Download 38 min version of "Cleft Lift Surgical Instruction Video" (right click and choose "save link as" or "save target as" to start download)
Surgeons who are preforming the Bascom Cleft Lift Procedure and not on our "Cleft Lift Surgeons List", please add your name to our database.
Modified Karydakis Surgical Instruction Video:
by Dr. Paul Kitchen.
Pilonidal surgical technique of Modified Karydakis Procedure (similar to Bascom Cleft Lift) by Dr. Paul Kitchen.
Like the Cleft Lift, one of the key components of the Modified Karydakis Procedure is making the natal cleft shallower and keeping the primary incision site off the midline where it can receive oxygen and heal. Dr. Paul Kitchen took Karydakis' original work and modified it based on new information and techniques pioneers by Bascom. This surgical technique has been passed on to several other surgeons in Australia and worldwide.
Other Video Links:
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Pit Picking (Follicle Removal) Bascom Technique
Note: There is no Audio with this video (Video windows media player .wma format)
You can also find this video and others at YouTube by clicking here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lc-tn_Vv6g
Presentations:
Bascom's Cleft Lift Presentation (pdf)
Join Dr. Bascom's Blog:
Enthusiastic Pilonidal researchers should be interested in following developments in new techniques and discussions of complicated cases at A Boil on the Butt (http://aboilonthebutt--pilonidal.blogspot.com/) Blog.
This page last updated: 09/30/2010