Are you dealing with a failed “pilonidal cyst” surgery? Learn about the Cleft Lift Procedure. So, you have had one, or more, operations for your pilonidal disease (often incorrectly referred to as a pilonidal cyst), and now you have a recurrence or an open wound. You may have daily drainage. You may require wound careContinue reading “Don’t Live with Failed Surgery for a Pilonidal Cyst”
Dr. Sternberg will be presenting a talk on Pilonidal Disease: Truths, Myths, and Pearls as part of the Colorectal Surgery Virtual Educational Series (CRSVirtualEd) on March 26th at 7pm EST. (https://crsvirtualed.org/) The talk will be intended for a medical audience made up of doctors, faculty, and residents in the Colorectal Surgery field. Any medical practitionersContinue reading “Pilonidal Disease: Truths, Myths, and Pearls”
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? “