This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Clinical features

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Typically the pilonidal sinus patient is male with thick black hair. The mean age of presentation is 21 years in men and 19 years in women (1).

The most common site for the pilonidal sinus is over the sacrum in the gluteal cleft. Other sites include the hands, axillae and the umbilicus.

The patient complains of recurrent episodes of pain or sepsis. There are often periods of several months between episodes. As the size of the sinus increases the frequency of painful episodes also increases.

On examination a pit is seen in the midline of the sinus. One sinus may have several pits. The hairs are visible pointing into the sinus. Pressure on the sinus may exude pus or blood from the pit(s).

Reference

  1. Notaro J.R. Management of recurrent pilonidal disease. Semin. Colon Rectal Surg. 2003;14(4):173–185.
  2. Gil LA, Deans KJ, Minneci PC. Management of pilonidal disease: a review. JAMA Surg. 2023 Aug 1;158(8):875-83.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.