Flap Techniques
Pilonidal cyst is an increasingly frequent pathology in young people, mainly in men between 15 and 30 years of age. Find out how to treat it and what are the methods and flap techniques used to heal them.
flap treatments
As mentioned above, pilonidal disease usually manifests as an abscess in the sacrococcygeal region, which may be drained spontaneously or may require surgical incision to relieve pain and inflammation.
Among the surgical treatment alternatives for this pathology, different types of skin flaps have been described, which place the wound closure outside the midline, or by changing the direction of the incision, with good results.
Among the most commonly used flaps, the following are described below:
Get rid of sinus! No painful and endless cures! Recover your normal life in a few days, with the best possible aesthetic result, under the care of experts in Coloproctology.
Surgery time
40-60 min
Recovery time
24 hours
Anesthesia
Local
Flap Techniques
for Pilonidal Sinuses
It consists of the removal of the fistulous orifices only. It is a very minimally invasive technique with good postoperative pain control and rapid recovery.
However, it can only be performed in very mildly symptomatic cases, with few midline fistulous orifices and no signs of chronic inflammation. Moreover, it does not correct the cause of the SP, so new pilonidal cysts can be expected to occur in the long term.
They consist of repairing the wound caused by removing the sinus by interposing healthy surrounding tissue. There are several types of flaps:
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- Modified Karydakis/Bascom/”Cleft Lift”: this is the technique we recommend most often, so there is a whole section on it.
- Others: Limberg, Z-plasty, rotation flaps: these flaps require modifying a large area of skin around the wound. They are technically more complex, obtain worse aesthetic results and when they fail they do not leave room for many options, so they should be reserved for dramatic cases.
- Also known as Karydakis Flap, Bascom Flap or “Cleft Lift Flap”, it consists of a minimized and eccentric removal of the sinus, keeping as much tissue as possible, with the double intention of flattening the intergluteal groove and removing the midline scar.
- It is undoubtedly the most effective technique in the long term, with a recurrence rate of less than 5%. In addition, it achieves an excellent esthetic result and postoperative pain control, especially compared to the most common techniques.
- The “Pilonidal Support Alliance” (link to www.pilonidal.org), aims to centralize knowledge about SP and provide information and community support to patients suffering from this disease. Visit their website and complete your information!
Frequently Asked Questions
about Pilonidal Sinus
- Reddening of the skin
- Pain
- Presence of pus or blood in an opening of the skin.
- Unpleasant odor of oozing pus.
This pathology should be treated by a specialist in coloproctology, which is responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the colon, rectum and anus.
As we know, the pilonidal cyst is located in the region above the intergluteal fold, an area of treatment for this specialist.
