Dr. Sternberg’s paper has been published in the Seminars in Colon and Rectal Surgery journal.

The Cleft Lift procedure for pilonidal disease renamed as rotation and advancement flap procedure (RAF): Insights and technical tips for a successful outcome is available online here.

Here is a note from Dr. Sternberg:

In this paper I describe the technique of the Cleft Lift Procedure and I propose to rename the procedure in a more descriptive manner, the Pilonidal RAF for rotation and advancement flap procedure. Please note that since writing this paper over 2 years ago, I have changed my technique a bit and perform the procedure slightly differently. I also now use a different drain (closed suction instead of the passive drain described in the procedure). The 3 core principles of the RAF (Cleft Lift) still hold: 1) make the deep cleft (the cause of the condition) more shallow, 2) eliminate all dead (empty space) under the skin flap, and 3) place the incision off to one side of the cleft so that it’s in the open air and heals. I also discussed my results. I hope that you enjoy reading it.

— Dr. Sternberg