pilonidal cyst

[kats]

My hubby has a pilonadal cyst on his lower back. It is really an awful thing. They had to cut at least an inch down to clean it out and now we are packing it 3 x's a day with Sorbsan. Apparently, we have to continue this to a certain extent (the doctor said it won't always be 3 x's a day) for a month and then he will have to have more surgery to remove the sinus tracts. I just have a couple of questions for any of you who have treated people with this condition. First, is there anything you can recommend to make it hurt less? He is taking Percoset (sp?) and occasionally Motrin. Also, we are bandaging it with 4x4s and Durapore tape and it is quite painful when we have to remove it each time. Is there a way to remove this kind of tape without so much pain? Any suggestions for these questions as well as anything else you all can think of would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I also told him that he is lucky that he is married to somebody who is working towards going to nursing school. Most people wouldn't be thrilled with having to do this all the time.

[Mimi2RN, ASN, RN]

Part of a newborn assessment is checking for a pilonidal dimple, r/t neural cord defects. I knew they could turn into a cyst........I wonder how many families knew about the potential problems, after the baby was born? It sounds horrendous.