I have a friend who developed an abscess from a hair follicle in the butt area and it drained with antibiotics and now has turned into a fistula. Does anyone have any personal or known someone with this affliction and know of successful treatments. My friend is scheduled to have surgery for it in Feb. - I had never heard of this problem but it seems quite daunting and wondered if there is successful outcomes for this. thanks.
The real question is to have them find out the why this progressed to a fistula…which could be a few reasons. Was it a hygiene lapse and they ignored that a pimple could turn into something nasty…do they have something like diabetes where skin issues can become a big concern, despite taking appropriate care…working in a hospital a lot of odd abscess/fistula issues were from injections/drug abuse (not saying it’s the case here…but the places people inject is quite…interesting).
Personally, I had an irritation near the underwear line from riding turn into a MRSA infection that blew a huge abscess that I needed surgery to clean out…followed by a week of major IV antibiotics and a few more weeks of oral antibiotics. But…I have a genetic immune deficiency and one of my missing genetic pieces codes to skin issues/infections…especially staph infections. I am neurotic about hygiene and skin care…but a small pimple or cut can lead to me needing major antibiotics…and it’s worse the more stress I am under.
I healed totally fine…you can’t even see the surgical scar. But…depending on the main underlying issue that can either tell if they are at risk for more issues or will also guide how well they might heal.
Sounds like a pilonidal cyst? It’s not a hygiene thing. Surgery will clear out all the infected tissue, but they do often recur.
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agree with Simkie . Often these cysts are recognized when they first get infected. follow through is needed
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I agree that it sounds more like a pilonidal cyst. I had one for a long time that eventually abscessed and drained. No amount of antibiotics would clear it up. I had surgery to (1) remove the infected tissue and (2) move the cleft of my buttocks. Basically, my butt crack starts lower down and is flatter so nothing can accumulate and get under the skin at the top.
Surgery was in July 2020 and I have not had any issues since. The cyst had been there for many years and caused a great amount of pain. The recovery was challenging (think 8 weeks of trying to “sit” the right way or just plain stand) but it resolved many years of constant pain and discomfort.
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I brought mine to the attention of several primary care providers and they all said it would “go away”. Once it abscessed, it took 8 months to get the recommendation of surgery.
