r/pilonidalcyst

I’m scheduled for open wound surgery **(**CYSTECTOMY PILONIDAL—according to my MyChart) on Monday and I’m getting cold feet about it.

I’ve been getting recurring cysts since 2016/2017 and I had my most recent one months ago and it was unlike anyone I’ve had before. It flipped my life upside down I was barely able to move comfortably and it lasted longer than anyone I’ve had before and was resistant to antibiotics. I was in pain for weeks and constantly in and out of the ER. On my second urgent care visit the NP gave me a referral to a surgeon and I was initially really excited to move forward until the consultation.

At the consultation the surgeon told me I would have an open wound which didn’t sound too bad at first but now I’m concerned about the aesthetics of my body (yeah I know), but am I going to have like a chunk of my ass missing? Am I going to be open in pain? I don’t want to miss two weeks of work. I talked to the surgeon about these things and they said I wouldn’t be missing any skin or anything but then I got on this Reddit and I’m getting really scared.

Please share your honest experiences with this surgery I need help!

I just got my bascom cleft lift done with Dr. Cowie. I have to say, he is the best surgeon for this procedure in all of Canada.

I had pilonidal cyst since Dec 2024, and it occasionally flared up and down over weeks and mostly stayed flared all of last year. In October i apporached my family physician who referred me to general surgeon at a local hospital, whome I met and wasn't too confident in, as he never mentioned about what kind of procedure he would do. And on top wanted me to go under General anesthesia.

I did research online and found Dr. Cowie who was trained to do Bascom Cleft procedure, which yields best results and shortest recovery period. In dec 2025, I got the referral, January met with Dr. Cowie, and got the date couple months after.

The painful thing about health care in canada is wait times, other than that, care is top notch. I felt so much at ease during the procedure, as it was done under local anesthesia and very light sedation, no pain at all, and I was fully awake, and relaxed.

for anyone suffering with Pilonidal sinus and cyst issues, definitely try to get a referral to Dr. Cowie from your family physician.

Posting this review, because I also had to rely on online sources to learn about bascom cleft lift procedure and had to do my own research and ask for a referral for Dr. Cowie. I hope to share my experience, so that someone else who's got pain in the ass (yes, pun intended) could also benefit from shared knowledge and my experience.

This is gonna be a long post and im a bit nervous because im very new in this situation, so to start i am a 26F and all of this started for me on february of last year, I used to have a very bad habit of sitting in very weird positions when i was on a chair, and one day I sat in a weird way where i was holding my legs with my arms and i was applying a lot of pressure to my coxis, I really didn’t gave it too much thought and i was like that for hours but when i stood up my coxis was hurting and it felt painful, so i ran to check in a mirror and i saw like a red dot in between my ass cheeks, I was like shit i bruised myself but i kinda went on with my life, as the days went by so did the pain, but everytime i would apply pressure to the area it would hurt a bit again and when i checked the red dot was still there, and as the months went on it turned purple and would still hurt me when i would apply pressure or would workout using the coxis or glutes area, which is very frustrating, it never got bigger but if i did apply pressure to the are would feel a bit inflamated or the color would switch from purple to dark pinkish, with time i managed to sort my life in a way i never apply pressure there, i sit kinda laying to a side or another and i always sleep in the bed facing down or in the sides (i miss sleeping facing forward), I genuinely thought that was gonna disappear i was convinced that it was a bruise for so long… But given that im an anxious being i researched and decided to go to a specialist called “coloproctology” he checked me and told me it was indeed a pilonidal cyst, but he said that because wasn’t affecting my life and it didn’t hurt when he touch it, he recommended me to do nothing about it, which to me it felt like a cold water bucket was thrown at me, he said if it got bigget i could come back but he said this is better than having a scar… Im very emotionally affected by this situation because not only the fact that scares me that it gets worst but for example, currently I feel a bit more of a bump than a few weeks ago, and it terrifies me that it gets worse and I have to get surgery. Also in the aesthetic part i hate that it looks purple/redish like a bruise that never goes away, im so insecure about having sex again, I don’t know how im gonna be able to have someone looking at that and being attracted to it, it hurts me a lot to think there’s no cure or solution and that I can’t make it go away… I even looked if there is any way or laser that can remove the color but I'm afraid that’s gonna make the cyst perse worse, but if someone has had anything like this I would like to hear your experience. 
I also don’t know if you guys know any natural thing that might help the inflammation go down when it happens, also any kind of tip you guys wanna share with me would be very appreciative, at least knowing I'm not the only one helps me to feel better. If you managed to read this far I'm really thankful and I wish you well.

Hi,

I recently had open-wound surgery.

I have ADHD and take Adderal. I know stimulants can cause vasoconstriction, and I’m wondering whether that could theoretically slow wound healing or affect blood flow to the area.

Has anyone here with ADHD gone through pilonidal open-wound healing while taking Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, or similar meds?

There are so many photos on here with bear🐻 bums, and I'm so surprised. We are all aware that hair is the demon of this disease, you gotta help fight it off.

I know a lot of doctors will tell patients to use nair or get laser hair removal, but get how that can be intimidating for some. And shaving is out of the question.

So at the very least, break out the hair trimmer and buzz it as short as you can. The pilonidal area and up and down your crack (loose hairs can move up the crack during the day). And most importantly, which no one thinks of but causes so sooo much trouble.... your back. Keep your back hair trim. When back hair falls out, it only has one place to fall, the direct area you don't want it to go.

Happy trimming!

TW: Mental Health Struggles

Hi, I haven't posted in this sub before but I felt I needed to because I have been struggling lately.

I've been dealing with my pilonidal cyst for like 5 months now. It wasn't major or anything, just a small area that had minor pain.

I ended up going to a doctor and eventually ended up getting surgery. It was an excision, and involved stitches which were removed around 3 months ago.

Present day, I am really frustrated. I've seen my doctor a couple times since my appointment. He claims it is "healing" and not infected, but it just doesn't feel right. I still have pains sitting down, and it occasionally leaks blood or clear liquid (kind of like sweat). My doctor suggested that I do sitz baths and not to sit as often. I have been doing both of these things. I do sitz baths every day, and I am at a standing desk currently where I try to sit down barely at all if possible. After all this, it still doesn't feel like it's getting any better.

This whole thing has seriously affected me mentally. The whole deal grosses me out and makes me extremely self-conscious about myself. I though getting surgery would alleviate the issue, not worsen it. I've had anxiety and depression in the past, but this situation has made things much worse. I just want to feel normal again.

If anybody has dealt with a similar situation or just has advice on what I should do, I'd really really appreciate it. This has seriously been bothering me for months and I just want it to be over.

Thanks!

So I recently discovered I have a pilonidal sinus after a GP visit. He referred me to surgeon who confirmed it was, and said he can operate on it to remove it but I must get laser hair removal around the area beforehand. getting that done will take a while because it’s multiple visits to the laser clinic separated by a month so I will likely be getting the surgery in about 6 months.

In terms of managing it in the mean time, what do you guys recommend? It does scare me a bit the fact I have to keep it from getting infected for 6 months. So far I have been doing the occasional sitz bath and I’ll wipe the area with a baby wipe throughout the day. Sometimes when I put pressure near the sinus it leaks pus/blood. The surgeon said it has not developed an abscess (yet) What do you guys think? Is it something that can be managed pretty easily for that length of time? Should I avoid bike riding/running?

thanks

hello, i have recently gotten surgery done on my pilonidal cyst. i was never told specifically which surgery i got, but i have black stitches along the top of my crack. i have not had anything draining and very mild pain so far. i am very worried for the recovery time as some people have taken months or even over a year, and reoccurrence is a fear of mine as well. how can i heal as best as possible? any tips would be appreciated thank you.

Hello, I think I jumped the gun and allowed my gf to sit on my lap and although be it for a few minutes it’s been bleeding on and off for the last 19 hrs is this bad or just itl heal with time