Pilonidal disease is a common condition affecting perhaps 1% of the young population in the United States. Few medical practitioners appreciate the prevalence of this condition, and it is surprising how misunderstood this condition is by medical providers including surgeons. Way too many patients are having their condition improperly diagnosed. Many urgent care providers, pediatricians,Continue reading “Underappreciated and Misunderstood”
Our commitment to successful outcomes for patients with Pilonidal Disease has been recognized by Castle Connolly again in 2023. After being nominated by other doctors, Dr. Sternberg has been awarded “Top Doctor” status. This means that Dr. Sternberg, and the Sternberg Clinic, have excelled in areas such as professional qualifications, research leadership, professional reputation, andContinue reading “Dr. Sternberg Awarded Top Doctor”
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 theContinue reading “Dr. Sternberg Paper Published”
Clearly, if you develop pilonidal disease, you would like to avoid surgery if possible. Surgical avoidance, however, may not be completely under your control. For early, mild pilonidal disease with a small pit or two and occasional pain, surgery may not be inevitable if the symptoms remain mild. Avoiding sitting for long periods of timeContinue reading “Is Surgery Inevitable for Pilonidal Disease”
I’m 18 and from Seattle, Washington. When we went on lock-down in March of 2020, I began to sit for hours at a time, studying, reading, and eventually Zoom schooling. I first realized that something was wrong when I developed a painful swelling just above my buttock crack. I figured that it was from allContinue reading “Living with an open wound since early in the pandemic”
Draining a pilonidal abscess (I&D) should be in the bag of tricks of any emergency room, urgent care doctor, or surgeon. But the practice is very variable, and many patients have unsatisfactory experiences. Here are the main issues, and I will say this is somewhat controversial as while I feel that I am promoting well-established best practices,Continue reading “Draining a Pilonidal Abscess: Controversies and Best Practices”
Many surgeons choose to treat pilonidal patients with disfiguring, wide-excisional operations hoping to completely remove the elusive cyst. The problem is that many of these radical operations for pilonidal disease: 1) often don’t work and can lead to a recurrence as they fail to shallow the cleft, eliminate dead space under the skin surface, andContinue reading “I am on a mission to educate patients and the surgical community”
It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks! And it’s a challenge to get surgeons to change the way they treat a particular condition after residency training. Surgeons are trained by their mentors to do things in a certain way. Most are wedded to that way. Change is difficult and many surgeons are cautious in adopting new surgicalContinue reading “How do we Teach Proper Pilonidal Surgery Technique? “
Few surgeons truly have a desire or interest in taking care of pilonidal patients and many of their operations make the problem worse. Not everyone should be performing the cleft lift. It is technically demanding, requires good three-dimensional planning, and adequate patience to meticulously perform the operation. So, if the surgeon you’re consulting withContinue reading “How do you know if a surgeon is a pilonidal expert?”
During my training as a general and colon and rectal surgeon, I was complicit in many poorly planned and executed operations for pilonidal disease. Patients would come to the operating room with a symptomatic but small appearing problem, and they would leave with a huge hole in their backside. In the resident clinic I would see theseContinue reading “Surgeons, please partner with me in changing the way we treat pilonidal disease.”