Is it true that dermatologists are unable to diagnose a PS and
cannot be trusted in their judgement? I read this on the internet and this worries me quite a lot. Because the problem
is that I have 2 spots in the crack which one time became thick
like a pimple and then vanished a few days later. One of the spots
itched and it kind of reacted to being touched or scratched. Every
time when I seeked it and touched it or slightly scratched it
because it also itched a bit it seemed to "react" and it become
more elevated comparable to a bee-sting which itches and when you
scratch it it becomes more elevated. Is this typical for a PS?
And the other bump which I had also became thick like the first one
and looked like a pimple and also bled a bit and then I went to the
dermatologist and the first one said it's a PS. Then I went to a
professor of dermatology 2 days later on showed it to him and he
said it's not a PS. And then I went to a third dermatologist and he
also said it's not a PS but he offered me to cut it out if it
bothers me.
But if it's not a PS then what is it? Both spots are still
elevated, I can still feel that something is there when I stretch
the skin and run the finger over it. This really worries me. If
this isn't a PS then what is it? Or what if these 2 things are PS
and from the outside you simply don't see them? Now I'm concerned
again especially now where I read that dermatologists aren't to be
trusted. :(

I have a pilonidal sinus or cyst. Mine only flares up occasionally. When it does, it does itch a great deal. Mine hasn't bothered me in quite a while. Just try and keep the area clean. I almost had mine removed once but I'm glad I didn't as it really hasn't been a problem in some time. Any surgery you can avoid is good. If yours continues to bother you, I would go and see a colorectal doctor to have it looked at. I think I read in a pilonidal brochure at my colorectal doctor's office that the older you get the less it will bother you. Hope this helps.

Thanks. But these things can also become larger under the skin. I think if I knew I had one I would get it removed.

I just had surgery for this on Nov21 and I am still trying to get it to heal. The doc did a closed surgery meaning he stitched it up. I am having problems with it healing. It looks like it opened up and it is draining a lot. I have been dealing with this for about 2 years and probably went to about 5 doctors before I was referred to surgeon who knew exactly what it was. The other doctors kept telling me it was a Hemhroid(sorry if I spelled that wrong) and the second to last one thought it was a fistula and even gave me a colonoscopy. My point is that you need to go to the right doctor to get this diagnosed and treated. They all have thier specialties. You need to go to a colon/rectal surgeon. If you can't find one in your area then a general surgeon. That's what I went too.

I just had surgery for this on Nov21 and I am still trying to get it to heal. The doc did a closed surgery meaning he stitched it up. I am having problems with it healing. It looks like it opened up and it is draining a lot. I have been dealing with this for about 2 years and probably went to about 5 doctors before I was referred to surgeon who knew exactly what it was. The other doctors kept telling me it was a Hemhroid(sorry if I spelled that wrong) and the second to last one thought it was a fistula and even gave me a colonoscopy. My point is that you need to go to the right doctor to get this diagnosed and treated. They all have thier specialties. You need to go to a colon/rectal surgeon. If you can't find one in your area then a general surgeon. That's what I went too.

I had surgery for this on Nov21 and still having problems with it healing. The doc did a closed surgery meaning he stitched it up. He kept the stitches in for 2 weeks and now it looks like it is open and draining quite a bit. I have been dealing with this for about 2 years and have gone through about 5 doctors. They all kept telling me I had Hemhroids (sorry if I spelled that wrong) and the second to last one thought I had a fistula and even gave me a colonoscopy. What a waste of money that turned out to be. Finally I went to a surgeon who only needed to look at it for about 20 seconds before he knew exactly what it was. My point is that you need to go to the correct doctor. They all have thier specialties. Go to either a colon/rectal surgeon or if you can't find one goto a general surgeon like I did.

Okay, thanks. But I don't understand why this is so hard to diagnose.
What does the colon surgeon do or know what a normal doctor doesn't know?
Does he have special machines to diagnose it?

I guess it is just experience. My surgeon asked me questions, looked and felt it and knew what it was.