What are the symptoms of pilonidal disease?
Symptoms vary from a small dimple to a large painful mass. Often the area will drain fluid that may be clear, cloudy or bloody. With infection, the area becomes red, tender, and the drainage (pus) will have a foul odor. The infection may also cause fever, malaise, or nausea. There are several common patterns of this disease. Nearly all patients have an episode of
an acute abscess (the area is swollen, tender, and may drain pus). After the abscess resolves, either by itself or with medical assistance, many patients develop a pilonidal sinus. The sinus is a cavity below the skin surface that connects to the surface with one or more small openings or tracts. Although a few of these sinus tracts may resolve without therapy, most patients need a small operation to eliminate them.
Initially, 50% of patients first present with a pilonidal abscess that is cephalad to the hair follicle and sinus infection. Pain and purulent discharge from the sinus tract are present 70-80% of the time and are the 2 most frequently described symptoms. In the early stages prior to the development of an abscess, only a cellulitis or folliculitis is present. The abscess is formed when a folliculitis expands into the subcutaneous tissue or when a preexisting foreign body granuloma becomes infected.
A small number of patients develop recurrent infections and inflammation of these sinus tracts. The chronic disease causes episodes of swelling, pain, and drainage. Surgery is almost always required to resolve this condition. |
