Book Appointment

Specialised Centre For Pilonidal Sinus Surgery

pillonidal sinus

A pilonidal sinus is a chronic skin condition that can cause irritation, pain, and even infection. These pockets of pus are most commonly located near the tailbone but can also appear around other areas like the inner thighs or buttocks.

Pilonidal sinuses form when hair grows into the skin and becomes trapped under your skin. This causes inflammation to develop, resulting in an infection known as folliculitis. Folliculitis is often mistaken for acne because it looks similar on your skin’s surface (whiteheads and blackheads). The difference between folliculitis and acne is that folliculitis occurs when bacteria grow inside of your hair shafts, while acne occurs when bacteria grow on top of your skin’s surface, causing pimples or whiteheads.

You may not have any noticeable symptoms at first other than a small, dimple-like depression on the surface of your skin. However, once the depression becomes infected, it will quickly develop into a cyst (a closed sac filled with fluid) or an abscess (a swollen and inflamed tissue where pus collects).

The signs of an infection include:
  • Pain when sitting or standing
  • Swelling of the cyst
  • Reddened, sore skin around the area
  • Pus or blood draining from the abscess, causing a foul odor
  • Hair protruding from the lesion
  • Formation of more than one sinus tract, or holes in the skin

You may also experience a low-grade fever, but this is much less common.

Conservative treatment

If your case is diagnosed early on, you aren’t experiencing severe pain, and there’s no sign of inflammation, it’s likely that your doctor will prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic. A broad-spectrum antibiotic is an antibiotic that treats a wide range of bacteria. It’s important to realize that this won’t heal the sinus tract, but it will give you relief from the infection and discomfort. Your doctor will recommend that you get a follow-up exam, regularly remove hair or shave the site, and pay particular attention to hygiene.

Lancing

This procedure alleviates symptoms from an abscess, or a collection of pus inside the sinus. Before this procedure, your doctor will give you a local anesthetic. They will then use a scalpel to open the abscess. They will clean away any hair, blood, and pus from inside the abscess.

Your doctor will pack the wound with sterile dressing and allow it to heal from the inside out. The wound usually heals within four weeks, and many people don’t require any further treatment.

Phenol injection

For this type of treatment, your doctor will first give you a local anesthetic. They will then inject phenol, a chemical compound used as an antiseptic, into the cyst. This procedure may need to be repeated several times. Eventually, this treatment will cause the lesion to harden and close.

This treatment has a very high recurrence rate. Therefore, it’s uncommon in the United States. Doctors turn to surgery as the treatment of choice in some cases.

Surgery

If you have a recurring PNS or if you have more than one sinus tract, your doctor will recommend a surgical procedure.

You will first be given a local anesthetic. Then, the surgeon will open the lesions, removing all of the pus and debris. Once this process is complete, the surgeon will stitch the wounds closed.

After surgery, your doctor will explain how to change the dressings and will recommend shaving the site to prevent hair from growing into the wound.



LAPSER is the best hospital for laser pilonidal sinus treatment in Chennai. We use neo-v laser, one of the most advanced lasers in world. with this cutting-edge technology and precision skills we can deliver a better outcome for our patients. It is best to consult with our qualified surgeon who can evaluate your specific condition and recommend the most appropriate surgery options.