Pilonidal Cyst

For those of you just getting here, here is a good place to start: http://www.brianmcdonald.net/pilonidal/2005/09/history.html

WARNING: Some gross pictures on here. Don't blame me if you get puke on your keyboard.

Sorry! It has been quite some time since I've updated. I quickly got used to not having to shower and pack the wound twice a day...

An extra big booty picture this time. You can see the wound has healed nicely. If I remember, I'll have Lisa take a picture in a month or so.

Well, I just got back from my last doctor appointment! The good doctor Rosenbloom gave me the all clear, so all is good. He said that the wound is completely healed over. I can stop taking showers twice a day and can get back to my regular twice-monthly schedule.

He also said that in 4-6 weeks, the skin will be as strong as it is going to be and will look great. I'll post a picture when I can.

So, almost exactly 4 months from surgery, I am all better. Yay!

It's been a month since the last update. I've been to the doctor every two weeks since then, and he has used the silver nitrate sticks to remove some of the proud flesh every time. He always says that it looks good. He characterized the process as "two steps forward, one step back", as the new granulation tissue fills in. Sometimes the tissue grows a bit more than it should, or incorrectly, and needs to be removed with the silver nitrate.

The good doctor usually takes pictures, but I brought mine and had him take one. On the left is the picture from yesterday. On the right is one of the first pictures of the wound. Pretty nice progress after about 4 months...

  

This picture really shows how far this has come. The doctor took this last Wed. right after using some more silver nitrate sticks on a bit of the proud flesh. Not nearly as much as the first time. The good doctor also said that the wound looks great and I'm almost done.

So I got two pictures for you.

The first is the picture from the doctor in the office. You can see the remnants of the cauterized "proud flesh".



The second is the day after. Most of the dead tissue has sloughed off.

Went to see the doc again this morning. He said the wound looks great, for starters. He also said that I am growing some "proud flesh", which he described as scar tissue that we don't particularly want. He said that it is a result of the dry dressing and is very common. He then proceeded to use some silver nitrate sticks to burn off the "proud flesh". Surprisingly enough, this did not hurt much at all. A little sting, but that's it. He took some pictures and will email them to me soon. I'll post them as soon as I get them. He said that the "proud flesh" will undoubtedly recur and he'll treat them the same way.

Another appointment in two weeks.

Google up "proud flesh pilonidal excision" and you'll find some interesting stuff.

Hey, all. Sorry I haven't updated this in a while, but there hasn't been much to report.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday, November 2nd for a 2-week checkup. The pimples are going away, but my fair skin makes this process take a while. He said the wound looks great. He instructed me to stop using saline for the dressing - I should go with dry gauze for the pieces that go into the wound. Also, I can stop using the ABDs (the larger dressings). This makes Lisa extremely happy, since I can now dress the wound myself in the mornings and I do not have to wake her up. The doctor also said that I have about a month left. Yay!

In other news, my digital camera broke. I can only take pictures with the timer. Here's a shot of the wound as it looks now. You can sort of see that the wound depth is getting smaller. You can see that wound is definitely "beefy red", too.