Hello every one! I am an 18 year-old girl and I had my Pilonidal Cyst Removal surgery this summer. I’m writing this because the information I got on the surgery based on the reviews in sites such as this was rather…scary to say the least. However, my experience with the whole thing proved to be quite different… That’s why I decided to share it with you so that maybe I can put the mind of those of you who are now where I used to be a little at ease. English is not my first language so please overlook my mistakes. I first found out about this annoying disease when I was on a trip without my parents about 3 years ago. The first thing I felt was a small bump back there that oozed a little and after a day or two it got very painful. However, I didn’t tell anyone about it at first. When I returned home I surfed the internet a bit and by searching the symptoms I made a guess that I had a Pilonidal cyst-and I ended up being right. When I saw the images of the surgery I totally freaked out. In fact, I was so scared to tell anyone that I decided to bear with the pain for a while hoping that it would somehow subside-which it eventually did when it got drained by itself. I was relieved at first but when I saw the tiny holes it left behind I was once again absolutely terrified because I just didn’t know what to do with it without having to tell my parents about it-I was afraid they would force me to have the surgery. To me, that was just out of the question because of the horrible pictures I had come across during my “research” so I kept quiet. It was quite bearable for a while as it kept getting drained on its own to the point that it was almost painless. The only things that kept bothering me were the holes that were left back there… And I was afraid that I may have them for the rest of my life if I didn’t do anything about it(what can I say? As a girl it made me rather self-conscious). That is until last year’s winter when it formed a very painful abscess which refused to be drained and made sitting almost impossible. So I was left with no choice but to tell my parents about it. Apparently it was quite common in my paternal family and so they knew that surgery was needed. I searched online once again as a last attempt to find an alternative to the open surgery which had proven to be successful and I came across a page that said they did the surgery with co2 laser. Basically, it was the same as the open surgery except they made the cuts with a laser instead of a scalpel so it reduced blood loss significantly. Moreover, the pain after the surgery would be minimal. This was what actually gave me a little hope (I was still absolutely terrified because of the reviews I had read)
So my parents and I made our way to the clinic to check it out. The doctor said that since I was in my senior year(and totally freaked out to the point that I was crying), it was better to just drain the abscess so that it wouldn’t interfere with my studies for the university entrance exams(and was easier to handle emotionally for me)-it required a much smaller cut and healed much faster. I was relieved to say the least because I was still quite afraid of the surgery itself so it was kind of like a preview of what was about to come. The doctor put me under local anesthetics and the surgery took about 30 minutes to complete and I can say that the only painful part of the whole thing was the shots I was given to numb the area.
After that they bandaged the wound and told my mother to change the bandage daily. Even though I doubted that it would be as easy to deal with it as my doctor claimed it would be, it turned out that they were right. I almost felt no pain afterwards when the anesthetics had lost their effect. In fact, when I had my appointment the next day, I asked the nurse when they would wear off and she said that it did just about 6 hours after the surgery. I was shocked to say the least and absolutely ecstatic! I only took the painkillers that the doctor prescribed 2 or 3 times (and I must say that I have a very low pain tolerance).
As my doctor said, I could sit with almost no difficulty for about an hour-if I sat down any longer I would feel a dull ache in the area- and even though he said even sleeping on my back was alright, I decided not to try it-just to be on the safe side- and slept on my side. Changing the bandages were much less painful than what I imagined and even that was for 3 days. It healed completely in 2 weeks. I had the main surgery about 4 months after that. It was pretty much the same thing except the wound was much larger.
Again the doctor said to change the bandages at least once a day though we did it three times for the first two weeks (just to be safe) and then less and less as time passed .The first four days were alright. No pain with changing the bandages at all. Still, the first time my mother did it there was just a LOT of blood and honestly that was the only scary thing which got less and less every day. The 5th day, when my mother tried to remove the bandages I suddenly felt a sharp pain in the wound. It wasn’t that bad to be honest but once again I was reminded of every single review that I had read from other patients and the anxiety took over again. I was trembling and crying and there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it. I couldn’t just leave it like that. So I just braced myself until my mother was done.
The next couple of days I was still not feeling so well. At the smallest pain that I felt I suddenly started crying even though there was nothing really wrong. I was just scared (I’m saying this because there may be some people just like me who are afraid to do the surgery just as I was. It wasn’t painful as much as it was emotionally taxing for me. I am unnaturally terrified by pain end even I got through itï. So don’t worry so much) even if it actually hurt less than getting a small paper cut. After that it got much better. Sitting was okay if I leaned to the side a bit (sometimes I got a very small but sharp pain if I didn’t but not always) though I didn’t try to sleep on my back although my doctor forced me to do so the very same day I had the surgery to prove me that it was absolutely okay. However, if I stayed in a single position for a long time, the dull pain would be back. So things were much easier.
After two weeks, everything was completely normal. I was sitting just like I was before the surgery, lying on my back, and changing the bandages got very easy. The rest of the healing procedure was no big deal. It fully healed within 7weeks. 3 months after it fully closed, the scar is now almost invisible (just a thin line that is slightly pinker than the rest of the area). I just have to shave it regularly so that I don’t have that again and in a couple of months I will try laser hair removal as my doctor suggested. I’m pretty happy about the results and feel rather stupid for not telling anyone about it. To everyone out there who is struggling with this annoying cyst I strongly suggest to get the surgery done as soon as you can with co2 laser if you can. It’s a little pricier than the traditional open surgery but afterwards it’s totally worth it.
Here are some tips that some of you might find useful after the surgery from my own experience. They helped me a lot.
1. I said it once and I’ll say it again: CO2 LASER IF YOU CAN! The difference is phenomenal
2. When removing the bandages, pour some saline over the bandage to soak it before you remove it. It helps it not to stick to the wound to cause pain during the removal.
3. Make sure the area is completely hairless. Shave around the wound as it heals when needed. Even after it is healed, it helps to prevent recurrences. Get a laser hair removal if you can when it is completely healed and the skin color almost reverts back to normal.
4. Make sure the edge of the bandage reaches the bottom of the wound no matter how deep it is and DO NOT let the edged of the wound to close before it is filled from the inside. A small part of mine did without us noticing and when we thought it was healed it suddenly tore open a little. The doctor pressed the bandage in and broke the skin it had formed) in that tiny spot to make it properly heal again (didn’t hurt. Don’t worry ;)) and we had to bandage it an extra 4 days. I was fortunate to notice it immediately otherwise the cyst may have returned.
5. And most importantly, don’t think about it too much after the surgery. It’s not that big a deal. It takes time to heal, but meanwhile, it is NOT unbearable. Take good care of it and the wound should close nicely so there is no need to be afraid. (It wouldve made a huge difference if someone had told me that before the whole thing)
Good luck to everyone who is dealing with this problem. I hope this helps you. The hardest part is giving in to finally gettin the operation done. The rest passes easily enough.