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. This page lists every published study that we have in the "library" as well as a link to download a PowerPoint presentation by Dr. John Bascom which details his Cleft Lift operation and a more conservative approach for Pilonidal treatments.
This site 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.
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 & Papers:
Pilonidal Sinus: Management in the Primary Care Setting (pdf)
Kitchen, Australian Family Physician, June 2010
Pilonidal Sinus: The Modified Karydakis Operation (pdf)
Kitchen, Special to Pilonidal.org, Spring 2010
Bascom's Cleft Lift Presentation (web version) If you have PowerPoint or are willing to install the viewer, download the presentation from the link below.
Bascom's Cleft Lift Presentation (PowerPoint version, 8.5 MB)
*Need to have either PowerPoint or the Viewer to view.
Healing by primary closure versus open healing after surgery for pilonidal sinus: systematic review and
meta-analysis (pdf)
McCallum, British Medical Journal 2008
Pit Picking Quick Tutorial (pdf) -
Bascom, Special to Pilonidal.org 2006
Cleft Lift Published Article (pdf) -
Bascom, Archives of Surgery 2002
There is also a video tape of this operation that Dr. Bascom will be happy to share, as well as the presentation on DVD. You may email him to request a copy of either or both (Medical Professionals only).
Pilonidal Sinus (pdf) -
Bascom, Current Theory in Colon & Rectal Surgery 1990
Pilonidal Sinus Disease: The Conservative Approach (pdf) -
Armstrong & Barcia, Archives of Surgery 1994
Pilonidal disease: Origin from follicles of hairs and results of follicle removal as treatment (pdf) -
Bascom, Updated in 2006, originally published in Surgery 1980
Cytokeratin Expression in Pilonidal Sinus (pdf) -
British Journal of Dermatology 2002
Pilonidal Sinus Disease (pdf) -
Harding/Miller, World Wide Wounds 2003
Pilonidal Disease: A Conservative Treatment (pdf)
Pingree, American College of Surgeons 2001
Easy and Successful Treatment of Pilonidal Sinus after Explanation of it's Causative Process (pdf) -
Karydakis, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery 1992
Pilonidal Sinus: A Simple Treatment (pdf) -
Lord/Millar, British Journal of Surgery 1965
Wound Healing:
Pilonidal Sinus Wounds: A Clinical Approach (pdf) -
Bannerjee, Journal of Community Nursing 1999
Managing Cavity Wounds (pdf) -
Pudner, Journal of Community Nursing 1998
Managing Wound Sinuses (pdf) -
Butcher, Nursing Times 2002
This page last updated: 01/15/2011