how long does it take to heal after a pilinidal cyst surgery?

Question

im a healthy female and have been lucky enough to get a pilinidal cyst dont know how but its extremely painful!!! i have to go in for surgery to get it removed and im wondering if anyone knows how long it would normally take to heal if i take care of it. i work for discover card and it requires me to sit for 8 hours so im assuming it may be a while b4 i can sit again and its going to affect my job :(

Answer 1

A pilonidal cyst is actually a type of birth defect, so you didn't get it- you were born with it. In fetal development, the outer covering of the spinal cord fuses from top to bottom to encase the spinal cord. Sometimes this happens a little late, and a small amount of skin, complete with the sweat glands, gets fused inside. It's usually seen as a small dimple on the tail of the spine, and is extemely common. The sweat gland continues to produce sweat, and as there is no opening for it to escape through, it eventually blows out the gland. The body reacts by walling it off, creating the cyst. Eventually it can become quite large, and as you have no doubt noted, very painful. The surgeon will try to excise the cyst intact- without breaking it, as the entire cyst must be removed or it will happen again. Because the area is most usually infected already, the surgeons don't usually stitch the site closed. They create a pocket, of sorts, and it is packed with a long strip of material containing a low level antibiotic. It acts to drain the wound and keep things clean. Normally the packing material is changed on a daily basis, though every doctor has his own preferences and you will need to ask yours what he wants to do.
The first week post-op is usually the most miserable, although things shouldn't feel as miserable as they were before the surgery, at least after the first day. Most people are not comfortable sitting for long periods for the first week. The doctor should be able to provide you with a "donut", which is a round plastic air cushion that looks much like it's namesake. It won't make things wonderful, but it will help you sit without putting pressure on the area.
How long you take to heal is anyone's guess. It depends on your own ability to heal. Ditto with how much it will hurt and impact your life- it depends on how much pain tolerance you have. I would hazard to guess you should not plan to work for a week, and after that you would still be more comfortable sitting on your donut. If you can stand up to do your job for short periods, that would also help you return to work sooner.
You can influence your healing time by eating a good balanced diet and following all the post op instructions. My docs always gave an antibiotic to take for 10 days afterwards, and if yours does, be sure you take it for the full time, and as directed. For the first few days, I recommend you leave off the undies and air your tush as much as possible. Sunlight helps encourage the healing, and keeping things warm and dry help as well. Buns up in a patch of sunlight isn't that bad a position those first few days, and is usually the most comfortable position anyway. On the upside, the surgery usually takes care of the problem completely and there won't be a replay. And considering how much they hurt, that's always a good piece of news.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Hi, I work for a general surgeon and we see & do surgery on pilonidal cysts routinely. If your surgeon excises the cyst and leaves the cavity open to granulate in on it's own; it will require packing changes 2-3 times per week. He wants the cavity to fill-in(granulate) on it's own, from the bottom of the wound up. If you try and suture the wound shut after surgery, you run the risk of the skin edges closing nicely, but having the wound fill up with fluid and turn into infection. The packing usually consists of plain or iodoform gauze packing strip.
It is a lengthy post-op treatment, but only real uncomfortable for the very first few packing changes. Once it starts granulating in, it doesn't hurt so bad. And be sure your doc gives you something for pain post-op too!
Good luck with your surgery.

Answer 4

Get Ovarian Cyst Miracle!

Answer 5

For the first week you don't want to be too active, such as doing exercise because there is a risk of your blood clot loosening, causing dry socket. Other than that, you should be fine after the first week.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

it took me 3 months to heal

Answer 8

Interesting thread!

Answer 9

This is a very interesting question