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Hi all,
I feel kind of silly asking this question. Not that I'm embarassed to ask, but that I waited this long to do anything about it. I had first discovered I had a problem back in about 1996 or so. I went to the doctor then, and he told me that I would have to have surgery to remove the pilonidal sinus that had developed. Being 16 and with oh so many important things to do (atleast they were at the time) I decided to live with it. It really didn't bother me again until about 1999. I was working a delivery job when the pain really started to rear its ugly head. My girlfriend (now wife) looked after it as best as she could, but not having any experience with the matter, we went my local clinic to have it looked at. The surgeon arranged to have the surgery done, and let me tell you, that was by far the most painful thing I have ever experienced. If I remember it clearly, the sinus had actually grown seperate tracts of its own (if that makes sense, I read the right term for it earlier, but either way, it was in an advanced state) but I believe that the surgeon did remove all signs of the hair that was calling my other side home.
Enough of my story, here is my problem at hand. After the surgery, I had in-home care by a local nurse for probably about a month, then continued on by visiting a health facility for about another two months. We had some different approaches to getting the wound to heal properly. At first we tried just a straight 4X4 dressing with surgical tape. That seemed to soak up a lot of the discharge, but the wound would not heal. We then went onto try a small moist strip placed directly on the wound. That was quite uncomfortable, and did not seem to help either. As time went on, life changed, and I had reserved myself to using a store bought dressing with surgical tape. In two weeks, it will be my 22nd birthday, and I don't like the routine anymore. I have a bath in the morning, I put in the dressing, and by the end of the day, the dressing usually has a lot of discharge, and the smell of it isn't the most attractive thing in the world either (thank god for an understanding wife).
For the most part, it is painful. As I write this post, I have to readjust myself in my seat because it hurts so much. I really hope that someone reads this and can help me in my quest to heal. In my eyes, it is now just a large open wound that refuses to close up. I don't know if it is the area that it is in (the moisture, bacteria combination), or the constant moving and friction of being between a couple o' buns. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Thank you for your time,
Iann Gorrill
P.S. I ramble when I talk, so naturally it carries over to my internet habits.
In Reply to: Pilonidal surgery won't heal!! posted by Iann on May 15, 2002 at 02:37:46:
Wow, I take it you had the surgery in 99 and it has still not healed? That's a long time and I really feel for you.
I've had a Pilonidal cyst and have had one surgery and four lancings and I'm going for my second surgery June 19th. I'm going because my cyst when flared-up never opens and has to be lanced. I decided I couldn't live with these lancings two three times a year. I've also done alot of research on the cyst.
Now I'm not a doctor but I would look into building your immune system up and Dr. Stoll has some wonderful ways with the essenstial oils. If you look on this site he gives you the needed dosage and how to use them. I would start that.
Next I've heard on the internet from other people who have a hard time in healing. A few people went to a wound healing center. From what I read a wound healing center focuses on healing wounds and they might have some ideas that you may have not tried yet.
My next suggestion would be that maybe since you still have a discharge that smells that it's still infected. Which means to me that the surgeon didn't get all the cyst out and it's just infecting itself. It's normal to have a discharge all the way up till the wound closes but the discharges should be less and less in the amount. And the smell should be less and less strong. Usually you get a heavier discharge when sitting for a length of time. Your weight just pushes more stuff out.
So maybe a second opinion from a Board Certified Colon Rectal surgeon would be an idea. They may be able to look inside and see whats going on. They could also do a growth test. (I had one doctor do this) they take a piece inside and test it to see if it's still infected. Basically anymore bugs inside. A Colon/Rectal surgeon seems to deal with these more and thus usually more experianced.
My last suggestion is to make sure you are sitting on a tush cush or donut. Sitting and pressure on the area is one of the biggest problems with a Pilonidal. A tush cush is more comfortable and easier to use correctly than a donut. You can order online at www.tushcush.com. Anytime you are sitting more than 10mins you should be sitting on a tush cush. It should help with the pain too.
I hope this helps. I'm sure Dr. Stoll can give you some more ideas.
Good luck and good healing
just another suffer
In Reply to: Re: Pilonidal surgery won't heal!! posted by just another suffer on May 15, 2002 at 09:40:51:
Thank you for the suggestions, I will definitely look into the possibilities you mentioned.
In Reply to: Pilonidal surgery won't heal!! posted by Iann on May 15, 2002 at 02:37:46:
Hi, Iann.
Listen to Just...
ALL wounds above the knee always heal UNLESS there is a reason. The reason for this one is that there are still nests of epithelial tissue (nidi) that have been missed at surgery. These are congenital unfinished business and even a full-thickness skin graft would not solve the problem.
MY best suggestion would be for you to become an expert in this by reading the archives and then asking any questions that come up.
I doubt that the wound care center will help because this wound has an ulterior reason for it's existance. However, you have nothing to lose at this point.
Let us know what you learn and how you do.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Pilonidal surgery won't heal!! posted by Iann on May 15, 2002 at 12:42:16:
I'm glad to help I just hope one of my suggestions or whatever you learn in the archieves helps you.
Good luck
just another suffer
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