paininarse_uk
New Member
Hi - this is going to be a slightly longish post, but I want to share my experience of having suffered with Pilonoidal cyst in the UK. (not sinus! I will explain why)
I developed a lump on my arse back at the end of 2018 in the winter and initially I thought this was just a bruise I had incurred somehow. Initially it was just a lump which was slightly sore to touch and it healed on its own. After it healed I thought nothing of it and continued to go about my business.
In 2019, I started doing Crossfit and as a part of the exercises you end up doing quite a few sit ups, after a few months of doing this towards the end of the summer the "bruise/lump" had re-appeared. This time I was certain it may have just been my overdoing the exercise, however whilst it would heal, it returned a further 6 months later in 2020. This time continuing to persist and forming a sort of a pimple which was really quite painful.
In the summer of 2020, I decided to reach out to my GP and ask them to see it, due to Covid, it was quite difficult to get an in persona appointment but I was eventually seen and told that I had pilonoidal sinus and it would need surgery. I would be referred on the NHS and get seen.
Whilst waiting which was a 6 odd month wait, I found the cyst which had formed was now forming on a regular basis, then draining and it was becoming quite annoying and uncomfortable. The worst part being the cyst although small would drain and stick to my underwear (sorry for the graphic detail). It honestly was quite small no bigger than 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter and just a small circular lump. I was now in to the spring of 2021 and my wife and I were expecting a baby. The last thing I wanted to deal with was an arse crack infection when the new baby arrived so I decided to go down the private medical route. Thankfully I was fortunate enough to have private insurance through work.
I saw a consultant, Dr. Abulafi at the Shirley Oaks, he is a highly respected colo-rectal surgeon and honestly has been nothing but professional. He initially recommended we try antibiotics along with some scans to check if there genuinely was a sinus and tunnel which was causing the infection. Antibiotics helped reduce the swelling but the issue kept recurring. The scan also did not reveal a tunnel or sinus or any significant pits.
Mr. Abulafi therefore decided to treat my issue as a cyst that had been infected and sought to remove the infected tissue and skin without flap closure. The surgery was performed in April 2021 and honestly I don't remember much from the day.
After the surgery, I was honestly in almost no pain as I couldn't feel my arse, walking around and sitting was fine a day after surgery but the weeks that followed were frustrating. The biggest issue was that the wound had been left open so the nurses had to change my dressing almost on a daily basis for nearly 2.5 weeks. This meant daily visits to Shirley Oaks. Although the visits were painful, the bit about your sh*t getting stuck on to the dressing in the morning was really annoying. As a result I would shower just before going to the hospital and then remove the dressing completely.
After 3 weeks the wound appeared to have completely healed and I was advised to just keep the area dry after my showers using a Hair dryer. I thought it was all done and I was going to be smooth sailing from here on end... how wrong I was...
After about 2 weeks of the heal, the would swelled up and drained again. I went into complete panic and booked an appointment immediately to see the doctor.. he checked it and said there were no visible pits but used Silver Nitrate to expose the wound again, honestly this stung like crazy!!! and I was in pain for the next day or so... I was worried I was going to have to do that whole daily dressing thing again.. but the doctor suggested I just leave it and let the skin grow on it again properly and it did.
About 6 months went by issue free and then around May this year (2022), the would started swelling up again and draining. This time, there is no obvious drainage point and it just feels as though there is a layer of skin and then underneath it fluid builds up and releases. I have been to see Dr. Abulafi again and he gave me a course of anti biotic which calmed the wound down but then again it flared up towards the end of June. I have now had a letter to see Dr. Senapathi as he has said she specialises in this area.
I will be going down to Portsmouth at the Spire to see her next week and am really hoping she says its a minor issue and it can be fixed easily. It was re-assuring to read how many people here have seen her and I really feel for people that have this horrid disease!
Having read everything on here I hope she can give me some clarity.. really hoping its not another surgery.
I hope my post helps some people here out. I will update once I have spoken to her.
I developed a lump on my arse back at the end of 2018 in the winter and initially I thought this was just a bruise I had incurred somehow. Initially it was just a lump which was slightly sore to touch and it healed on its own. After it healed I thought nothing of it and continued to go about my business.
In 2019, I started doing Crossfit and as a part of the exercises you end up doing quite a few sit ups, after a few months of doing this towards the end of the summer the "bruise/lump" had re-appeared. This time I was certain it may have just been my overdoing the exercise, however whilst it would heal, it returned a further 6 months later in 2020. This time continuing to persist and forming a sort of a pimple which was really quite painful.
In the summer of 2020, I decided to reach out to my GP and ask them to see it, due to Covid, it was quite difficult to get an in persona appointment but I was eventually seen and told that I had pilonoidal sinus and it would need surgery. I would be referred on the NHS and get seen.
Whilst waiting which was a 6 odd month wait, I found the cyst which had formed was now forming on a regular basis, then draining and it was becoming quite annoying and uncomfortable. The worst part being the cyst although small would drain and stick to my underwear (sorry for the graphic detail). It honestly was quite small no bigger than 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter and just a small circular lump. I was now in to the spring of 2021 and my wife and I were expecting a baby. The last thing I wanted to deal with was an arse crack infection when the new baby arrived so I decided to go down the private medical route. Thankfully I was fortunate enough to have private insurance through work.
I saw a consultant, Dr. Abulafi at the Shirley Oaks, he is a highly respected colo-rectal surgeon and honestly has been nothing but professional. He initially recommended we try antibiotics along with some scans to check if there genuinely was a sinus and tunnel which was causing the infection. Antibiotics helped reduce the swelling but the issue kept recurring. The scan also did not reveal a tunnel or sinus or any significant pits.
Mr. Abulafi therefore decided to treat my issue as a cyst that had been infected and sought to remove the infected tissue and skin without flap closure. The surgery was performed in April 2021 and honestly I don't remember much from the day.
After the surgery, I was honestly in almost no pain as I couldn't feel my arse, walking around and sitting was fine a day after surgery but the weeks that followed were frustrating. The biggest issue was that the wound had been left open so the nurses had to change my dressing almost on a daily basis for nearly 2.5 weeks. This meant daily visits to Shirley Oaks. Although the visits were painful, the bit about your sh*t getting stuck on to the dressing in the morning was really annoying. As a result I would shower just before going to the hospital and then remove the dressing completely.
After 3 weeks the wound appeared to have completely healed and I was advised to just keep the area dry after my showers using a Hair dryer. I thought it was all done and I was going to be smooth sailing from here on end... how wrong I was...
After about 2 weeks of the heal, the would swelled up and drained again. I went into complete panic and booked an appointment immediately to see the doctor.. he checked it and said there were no visible pits but used Silver Nitrate to expose the wound again, honestly this stung like crazy!!! and I was in pain for the next day or so... I was worried I was going to have to do that whole daily dressing thing again.. but the doctor suggested I just leave it and let the skin grow on it again properly and it did.
About 6 months went by issue free and then around May this year (2022), the would started swelling up again and draining. This time, there is no obvious drainage point and it just feels as though there is a layer of skin and then underneath it fluid builds up and releases. I have been to see Dr. Abulafi again and he gave me a course of anti biotic which calmed the wound down but then again it flared up towards the end of June. I have now had a letter to see Dr. Senapathi as he has said she specialises in this area.
I will be going down to Portsmouth at the Spire to see her next week and am really hoping she says its a minor issue and it can be fixed easily. It was re-assuring to read how many people here have seen her and I really feel for people that have this horrid disease!
Having read everything on here I hope she can give me some clarity.. really hoping its not another surgery.
I hope my post helps some people here out. I will update once I have spoken to her.
