Discovering the 'Cleft Lift' - The Sternberg Clinic for Pilonidal Surgery

I had my pilonidal for several years before I found this website in my attempt to deal with the problem once and for all.
Through this site, I discovered the “cleft lift” proceedure as pioneered by Dr. John Bascom of Oregon. I decided to call Dr. Bascom, and he referred me to San Francisco based surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Sternberg who had been educated by Dr. Bascom as to how to perform the procedure.
I had the procedure and haven’t had any problems since! I’ve never had major surgery before, so I was a little unnerved by the whole process, which included a spinal anesthetic. I ended up having a drainage tube connected to the area for about a week after the procedure. Though inconvenient, it certainly beat having to do packing changes. The aftercare was pretty minimal, and in a few weeks I was back to normal.
I still have a little discomfort in the area where the abscess was if I put direct pressure on it, but that’s nothing compared to having a perpetually infected chronic abscess!
If you’re in the area, I highly suggest you check Dr. Sternberg out.
– GB

Patient Testimonials: The Blog

Read success stories from surgery patients

‘Thank you from the bottom of this mom’s heart’April 6, 2021
From the beginning of our first email to Dr. Sternberg to the weeks after surgery, the Sternberg clinic has been the most supportive and compassionate to our son. My son had been dealing with pilonidal disease for 2 years priorContinue reading “‘Thank you from the bottom of this mom’s heart’”
‘Dr. Sternberg basically saved my life’March 27, 2021
“Dr. Sternberg basically saved my life …” Those were the words of my very grateful 16-year-old son when he was healed after Dr. Sternberg performed the Cleft Lift operation. When my son was first diagnosed with pilonidal disease, I wasContinue reading “‘Dr. Sternberg basically saved my life’”
After three failed surgeries…March 27, 2021
After three failed surgeries over a year and a half with other surgeons, Dr. Sternberg and his team were able resolve my pilonidal disease quickly and with minimal discomfort. Over a year later and there have been on further issuesContinue reading “After three failed surgeries…”