Pilonidal disease

Common debilitating condition that usually affects young men of working age.

An acquired disease in which hair follicles become inserted into the skin, creating a chronic sinus tract, usually in the natal cleft.

Conservative (nonsurgical) treatments have yielded mixed reports of success. Definitive treatment is usually surgical, although many different techniques are available, and complications of tissue healing are frequent.

Acute infection may lead to a pilonidal abscess, requiring urgent surgical drainage.

Pilonidal sinus is caused by the forceful insertion of hairs into the skin of the natal cleft in the sacrococcygeal area. This promotes a chronic inflammatory reaction, causing an epithelialized sinus.[1]Karydakis GE. Easy and successful treatment of pilonidal sinus after explanation of its causative process. Aust N Z J Surg. 1992;62:385-389. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1575660?tool=bestpractice.com Sinuses may be multiple and communicate via a deep cavity. Chronic discharge usually occurs. Infection may supervene and lead to an abscess.