I wish I had remembered sooner to come here, I had surgery done last summer at the I.U. Med Center by Dr. Matthew Ziegler. Very pleased with his work and good to deal with as well. However he will be leaving late this summer, for Michigan. Sorry I didn't add this sooner, never remembered to when I was online.
Colorado Surgeons
- Thread starter BalletDancer
- Start date
Hi COGirl, I was wondering if you ever had the pilonidal surgery with Dr Audet? My cyst went into remission with no flare ups for a few years, but now has come back with a vengeance. I was hoping that my immune system was keeping it in check. Unfortunately, it's back again. I noticed that Dr Audet is no longer on the list for CO surgeons doing pit picking and cleft lift. There is still Dr Sun on list and now new addition Dr Birnbaum. Did you ever have the treatment with Drt Audet, and if so was it successful?
Hi ps_in_co I realize that it has been a few years since your surgery with Dr Audet, but I was wondering if you had any recurrences. I noticed that Dr Audet is no longer on the lists of doctors. My pilonidal has been in remission for few years, but has come back with a vengeance in Nov. 2018. Please respond since I am realizing now that I have to get treatment even if I have to travel to an out of state doctor.
Hi ps_in_co I was just wondering if you had any re-occurrence of pilonidal problems since you saw Dr Audet in 2014.
I tried calling Dr. Audet's office and they specifically say she does not do any surgery except trauma surgery. So I do not know how anyone got an appointment with her. If anyone knows how to contact her, let us know. I am sure there are many patients in Denver that would want to have her do their surgery.
Hi Ann! So sorry the logistics and office staff at Dr. Sun's office are creating extra anxiety for you! This is one of those conditions that doesn't need any extras like that!With Dr. Audet's blessing, I've actually postponed my pit picking with her until later this year. While she is in my insurance network, the facilities she performs procedures at aren't and I've needed some time to set aside some extra money. Thankfully my pilonidal is fairly minor and is cooperating with that plan. There is another poster on this site who had a pit picking done with Dr. Audet about 7 months ago. His thread is here: http://www.pilonidal.org/xfforums/index.php?threads/pilonidal-pit-picking-log-11-17-13.10250/. Although I haven't had my procedure with her yet, she very clearly explained the pit picking and the after care for my case (a small incision to clean the pits -- I have two small ones high in the cleft -- closed with about 3 stitches and a small off midline incision left open for drainage that will heal on its own. We went over daily cleaning and everything, and that was just a consultation and not a pre-operative appointment!). I would highly recommend trying to get an appointment with her. Robin, her receptionist is very friendly and accommodating. Perhaps if you call and explain your situation, she can fit you in a bit sooner? I was told that the reason Dr. Audet doesn't have extensive office hours is because she is often treating "emergency" cases (my understanding on that is that she is sort of on call treating cases that can't wait for a consultation because of recent infections, etc. and your case may qualify if you're already scheduled for surgery?). I urge you not to undergo any kind of surgery where you're not comfortable with the procedure or aftercare, though! I worked for orthopaedic surgeons years ago and if I learned anything, it's that communication between surgeon and patient is SO important!! I wish you the best of luck!!
Hi DanAub, I was wondering what your plans are for treatment since Dr Audet does not seem available for any procedures dealing with Pilonidal disease. I am considering consult with Dr Schatz mentioned in this feed since she is local CO or taking the plunge and traveling to Dr Immerman in Eau Claire.
I just saw Dr. Lisa Schatz at Rose in Denver. I had hoped to see Dr. Sgamboti, but she retired (young!). My husband had three anal fistula surgeries with Dr. Longcope, also at Rose. He's a wonderful doctor, excellent surgeon, but I thought I would be more comfortable seeing a woman. I don't know if he does pilonidal surgery, but he probably does. Dr. Schatz seems OK. She confirmed my condition in seconds and put me on Kelfex to treat the infection. I go back next week for a follow up and to talk about surgery. She said she does a lot of pilonidal surgeries. I'm at the beginning of this process, so I don't have more insight than that.
I had my follow up appointment today so Dr. Schatz could better evaluate my situation now that the infection has been treated. I will have surgery in two weeks. Dr. Schatz said that my case is "complex" and not a typical presentation. She did not try to convince me to have surgery, but she did tell me this isn't going to get any better on its own. She did a good job of describing the procedure to me. It's a big oval incision (4-6 inches long) and three layers of stitches. She said this would not be a good case for packing the wound given how large the opened up area will be. 
I told Dr. Schatz that I read that there's a 50-percent recurrence rate with pilonidal cysts. she very confidently said, "No. that's really high. That's not the case with my patients at all, although I've done a lot of surgeries on patients who had a recurrence after someone else did their first surgery. In your case, I'll be eliminating the entire sinus, so your current situation will be completely eliminated."
I then met with Richard, the scheduler. He looked at the notes and said, "Oh, my. Yeah, you want to get this taken care of quickly. This is...not minor. But! You're in very good hands. Dr. Schatz does a lot of pilonidal surgeries and she's been doing them for 20 years. She's really good at this, so you really shouldn't worry about your outcome."
That's all I'll know until after surgery. So far, I've had a positive experience with Dr. Schatz.
I told Dr. Schatz that I read that there's a 50-percent recurrence rate with pilonidal cysts. she very confidently said, "No. that's really high. That's not the case with my patients at all, although I've done a lot of surgeries on patients who had a recurrence after someone else did their first surgery. In your case, I'll be eliminating the entire sinus, so your current situation will be completely eliminated."
I then met with Richard, the scheduler. He looked at the notes and said, "Oh, my. Yeah, you want to get this taken care of quickly. This is...not minor. But! You're in very good hands. Dr. Schatz does a lot of pilonidal surgeries and she's been doing them for 20 years. She's really good at this, so you really shouldn't worry about your outcome."
That's all I'll know until after surgery. So far, I've had a positive experience with Dr. Schatz.
How did this end up going?I had my follow up appointment today so Dr. Schatz could better evaluate my situation now that the infection has been treated. I will have surgery in two weeks. Dr. Schatz said that my case is "complex" and not a typical presentation. She did not try to convince me to have surgery, but she did tell me this isn't going to get any better on its own. She did a good job of describing the procedure to me. It's a big oval incision (4-6 inches long) and three layers of stitches. She said this would not be a good case for packing the wound given how large the opened up area will be.
I told Dr. Schatz that I read that there's a 50-percent recurrence rate with pilonidal cysts. she very confidently said, "No. that's really high. That's not the case with my patients at all, although I've done a lot of surgeries on patients who had a recurrence after someone else did their first surgery. In your case, I'll be eliminating the entire sinus, so your current situation will be completely eliminated."
I then met with Richard, the scheduler. He looked at the notes and said, "Oh, my. Yeah, you want to get this taken care of quickly. This is...not minor. But! You're in very good hands. Dr. Schatz does a lot of pilonidal surgeries and she's been doing them for 20 years. She's really good at this, so you really shouldn't worry about your outcome."
That's all I'll know until after surgery. So far, I've had a positive experience with Dr. Schatz.
So you didn't get the cleft lift?
Any updates on your journey?