History of the Pilonidal Support Alliance
In May of 2000, a miserable Pilonidal patient was healing from surgery and pestering her surgeon with questions about best practices of wound healing. There was NOT a whole lot of information to be found on this new “World Wide Web” thing that was just gaining popularity. Out of frustration with the lack of information and wanting a place to put what research she did find, that patient decided to start a website for other Pilonidal patients and share what she had found on the subject of wound healing after Pilonidal surgery.
When that patient launched her little Pilonidal website a month later in June 2000 it only had about 10 pages and a message board. In the 15 years since it has grown to over 60 pages of information and is where most patients and doctors research Pilonidal Disease. Patients from all over the world exchange information and support each other on our forums and our medical advisory board includes the most respected and top surgeons treating the disease.
In September of 2004, we became the Pilonidal Support Alliance, a California Non-Profit Corporation. As of January 2005 we became tax exempt under IRS section 501(c)(3) which made donations fully tax deductible.
Where We Are Today
We are the worldwide #1 destination for information about Pilonidal Disease and treatment. The Bascom Cleft Lift has gone from relative obscurity to being practiced by over 175 surgeons around the globe. In the early years it was not uncommon at all to see stories on our forums about patients who had suffered through 5 – 10 failed surgeries. That rarely happens today because those patients find Cleft Lift doctors and fly to wherever they need for treatment. “Pit Picking” (another Bascom technique) has become more widely practiced and some patients are able to avoid more extensive surgery altogether.
The last look at our visitor log shows traffic coming to the website from 88 Countries including Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rico, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mauritius, Malta, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA, Vietnam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Because one woman got frustrated in 2000 and decided to start a website, thousands and thousands of lives have been changed.
Never let anyone tell you that one person cannot make a difference, because clearly they can and do every single day.
– Sandy Fischler, Founder and Executive Director
and Cancer Survivor (2018)
Mailing Address
The Pilonidal Support Alliance
5089 Saratoga Ave.
Cypress, CA 90630
562-254-6839 voice
Disclaimers
The Pilonidal Support Alliance is not a medical organization. We maintain this web site as a support mechanism and education resource, not as a substitute for care from a licensed medical professional.
The Pilonidal Support Alliance maintains this web site for information and support purposes only. Visitors are strongly advised not to perform a self-diagnosis of your personal condition based on the information found on the web site without consulting a competent licensed physician.
Medical opinions expressed or medical advice given on this web site are from non-professionals, unless explicitly stated otherwise and qualified by a source. We are not responsible for the content we hyperlink to.
The Pilonidal Support Alliance will not make referrals to specific medical professionals. All recommendations listed in the forums of this site have been submitted by patients.
The Pilonidal Support Alliance does not accept advertising or endorse the use of any product or service that may be mentioned.
Always consult with your own medical professional(s).
The Pilonidal Support Alliance will not assume any responsibility or liability for any action of any person who disregards this disclaimer.
Privacy
The Pilonidal Support Alliance is committed to respecting visitors’ and patients’ privacy and confidentiality and will not disclose their identities in connection with their medical records or history.
No information pertaining to a user’s identity is required to obtain a user account for the discussion board. Disclosure of information on the discussion board is voluntary. Information obtained through the discussion board’s signup process and email communications with Pilonidal.org will not, under any circumstance, be forwarded to third-parties or disclosed publicly on the site.
**MAY 2001 – A good story**
I’m celebrating today! It was one year ago that I had my cyst removed and it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. My wound closed perfectly the first time and I’ve had no real problems since (I do still check it every day, just to be sure). Removing the cyst gave me back my life: I’ve lost 30 pounds, started eating right and exercising again, and started dating again. I no longer spend 2 weeks out of every month with a wad of gauze taped to my backside with a draining cyst. I no longer have to pack medical supplies when I travel. I no longer worry about what I will tell a potential mate about the oozing lump on my tailbone. 8 weeks of packing was more than worth it to have the freedom to live a normal life, even a recurrence doesn’t scare me anymore. For those of you who get through your surgery and go on to live a normal life, please come back here and post your success story — remember how scary it was the first time you came here and saw nothing but bad stories, for every horror story there are at least 10 good stories so please help me out by posting your successes as well as the traumas! I’m also sending a thank you note to my surgeon, he did a damn fine job!
-Sandy
