Can you get a pilonidal cyst during pregnancy, and how should it be treated?
In pregnant women, does pregnancy increase the risk of developing a pilonidal cyst or sinus, and what management approaches (conservative care, incision and drainage, or surgical excision) are effective and safe during pregnancy and postpartum?
How people search for this, in their own words
- “pilonidal cyst pregnancy”
- “pilonidal cyst during pregnancy”
- “pilonidal cyst during pregnancy 3rd trimester”
- “pilonidal cyst pregnancy treatment”
- “are pilonidal cysts common during pregnancy”
- “pilonidal cyst affect pregnancy”
Evidence review in plain language · compiled 2026-10-26 · checked 2026-10-26 · next 2026-11-26 · automated review, how it works
What the evidence says
Bottom line
Yes, a pilonidal cyst (a small pocket near the tailbone that can get infected) can flare up or appear during pregnancy, but this comes from a single published case, so how common it is and the best way to treat it are not established.
In the one reported case, a pregnant woman's pilonidal symptoms came back once during pregnancy and went away on their own without surgery. She had surgery only after delivery. There is no study comparing treatment options, so this page cannot say which approach works best during pregnancy.
How well studied
Little evidence
The only direct evidence is 1 small or uncontrolled study.
This question weighs several approaches rather than testing one treatment, so there is no single works-or-doesn't verdict. What can be shown is how well it has been studied.
- answers it directly
- 1answers it directly
- study found
- 1study found
- randomised trials
- 0randomised trials
- people studied
- 1people studied
- years covered
- 2024–2024years covered
What the research shows
New pilonidal cyst or abscess appearing during pregnancy
Only one case has been published. There is no data on how often this happens to pregnant women in general.[1]
Not studied
Symptoms (pain, swelling, discharge) going away
In the single case, symptoms resolved on their own during pregnancy without any treatment. One case cannot show how often this happens.[1]
Too little evidence
Need for surgery during pregnancy
The one reported patient did not need surgery while pregnant; her surgery was done after she gave birth. This is one person's experience, not a general finding.[1]
Too little evidence
Wound healing time after drainage or surgery
No drainage or surgery was performed during pregnancy in the reported case, so healing time during pregnancy has not been described.
Not studied
Recurrence after delivery (postpartum)
In the one case, symptoms came back briefly after delivery, resolved quickly, and did not return after surgery. This is a single observation.[1]
Too little evidence
Effect on labor or delivery
No study has looked at whether a pilonidal cyst affects labor or causes problems with a perineal wound during delivery.
Not studied
What the studies found
- In the one reported case, a pregnant woman's pilonidal symptoms recurred once and then resolved without surgery during pregnancy. This single case does not show that delaying surgery is safe or advisable for others; it only describes what happened for this one person.[1]
Important limitations
- The entire evidence base is one case report describing one woman. Findings from a single person cannot be generalized to others.[1]
- There was no comparison group. No one knows what would have happened with a different approach, such as earlier surgery or drainage.[1]
- The study quality is rated very low, meaning there is a high chance the findings could be due to chance or this particular patient's circumstances.[1]
What kind of studies
- Case series1 · 100%
The key studies
Liang et al. 2024
Pilonidal disease in the pregnant patient: A case report
Non-surgical care worked during pregnancy; surgery after.Case seriesVery low quality
1 peoplethrough postpartum period
Symptoms recurred once during pregnancy and resolved without treatment; she was managed without surgery while pregnant; symptoms recurred again after delivery but resolved quickly; she later had a minimally invasive surgery (Gips procedure) after delivery with no further recurrence
- Who was studied
- 22-year-old pregnant woman (first pregnancy) with no other health problems
- Main outcome
- whether pilonidal cyst symptoms resolved and recurred
- Quality
- This is a single patient case report, so it cannot show what works best or apply broadly to other pregnant women.
- Limitations
- Only one patient was described, so findings may not generalize, and there was no comparison between treatment approaches.
Taken word for word from the abstract
- population
An otherwise healthy primigravid 22-year-old woman developed pilonidal disease at the beginning of her pregnancy.
- primaryOutcome
While pregnant, her symptoms recurred once and resolved without treatment.
- result
She was managed non-operatively during pregnancy. Her symptoms recurred again in the postpartum period but they quickly resolved. Due to the recurrent symptoms, she underwent definitive management via minimally invasive Gips procedure in the postpartum period, without further recurrence.
- n
An otherwise healthy primigravid 22-year-old woman
Int J Surg Case Rep · PMID 38507939 · Read it on PubMed ↗
All 1 studyEvery study that answered the question, with its design, size and result.
How we searchedThe exact query, the date it ran, and what came back — so you can run it yourself.
- Searched
- PubMed · ClinicalTrials.gov · Crossref on 2026-10-26
- The exact search — paste this into PubMed to repeat it
("Pilonidal Sinus"[Mesh] OR "pilonidal cyst"[tiab] OR "pilonidal disease"[tiab] OR "sacrococcygeal sinus"[tiab]) AND ("Pregnancy"[Mesh] OR "pregnancy"[tiab] OR "pregnant"[tiab] OR "gestation"[tiab] OR "peripartum"[tiab] OR "postpartum"[tiab])- PubMed expanded that to:
("Pilonidal Sinus"[MeSH Terms] OR "pilonidal cyst"[Title/Abstract] OR "pilonidal disease"[Title/Abstract] OR "sacrococcygeal sinus"[Title/Abstract]) AND ("Pregnancy"[MeSH Terms] OR "Pregnancy"[Title/Abstract] OR "pregnant"[Title/Abstract] OR "gestation"[Title/Abstract] OR "peripartum"[Title/Abstract] OR "postpartum"[Title/Abstract]) - What came back
- 13 records found · 13 read · 1 answered the question
- Included
- Human, animal or laboratory studies reporting an outcome relevant to the question
- Excluded
- Records about a different condition or intervention
- Studies mainly about Hidradenitis suppurativa
- Studies mainly about Perianal abscess or fistula unrelated to pilonidal disease
- Studies mainly about Pilonidal disease in non-pregnant adults
- Studies mainly about Postpartum pilonidal disease with no pregnancy-related onset
- Studies mainly about Laser hair removal for pilonidal prevention
- Records reporting no outcome
- Retracted publications, which are listed but excluded from every count
- Limits
- Details were read from abstracts, not full papers, so anything reported only in a paper's methods section is not captured here.
- Fields were read from abstracts, not full text, so detail reported only in a paper's methods section is not captured.
- Evidence strength is adapted from the GRADE framework. It is not a GRADE assessment and was not produced by a GRADE panel.
Automated evidence review — PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, Crossref. Search strategy, grading rules and the checks that must pass before anything publishes were written by Allen Kamrava, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, colon & rectal surgery, Beverly Hills. The pages themselves are compiled by software running that method and are not read one by one before publication — saying otherwise would be the one claim here that could not be checked.
- 13records came back from the search
- 13were read
- 1actually answered the question
Risks and safetyReported side effects and who should be careful.
- In the one reported case, symptoms recurred more than once — once during pregnancy and again after delivery — before the person had surgery.
Why people askWhat brings people to this question.
- Pregnancy causes weight gain and changes in posture that can increase pressure and friction near the tailbone, which makes people wonder if that is what triggered their symptoms.
- Sitting for long periods and reduced mobility late in pregnancy can make an existing pilonidal cyst feel more noticeable or painful.
- People want to know if it is safe to wait until after delivery to treat it, since surgery during pregnancy feels riskier or scarier.
Common questionsShort answers, drawn from the same studies.
- Can you get a pilonidal cyst during pregnancy?
- It appears possible — the only published case describes a pregnant woman whose pilonidal cyst symptoms came back during pregnancy. But this is one case, so it is not known how common this is.
- Can a pilonidal cyst develop or flare in the third trimester?
- The one published case does not specify an exact trimester for the flare, and no other studies have looked at timing. There is not enough evidence to say if the third trimester specifically carries higher risk.
- What is the treatment for a pilonidal cyst during pregnancy?
- In the only reported case, the symptoms were managed without surgery during pregnancy and went away on their own, with surgery done after delivery. No study has compared this approach against draining or operating during pregnancy, so there is no established treatment plan.
- Are pilonidal cysts common during pregnancy?
- This has not been studied. Only one case has been published describing a pilonidal cyst during pregnancy, which is not enough to say how common it is.
- Can a pilonidal cyst affect pregnancy or delivery?
- No study has looked at whether a pilonidal cyst affects labor or delivery. The one published case did not report any delivery complications, but this is a single patient and cannot answer the question generally.
What has changedEvery re-check, and whether it changed the answer.
2026-10-26
Clear the 'Under re-review' backlog: rebuild every remaining first-method (ev-1) page under the current method. 1 new study · 1 no longer retrieved · conclusion not studied → not applicable.
The conclusion changed.
This is information, not advice
This page summarises published research. It cannot tell you what is happening in your own body, and evidence changes. If something is bleeding, painful, or new, it is worth being looked at — that is a different question from the one on this page, and a better one to bring to a consultation.
Contact the officeAutomated evidence review — PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, Crossref. Search strategy, grading rules and the checks that must pass before anything publishes were written by Allen Kamrava, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, colon & rectal surgery, Beverly Hills. The pages themselves are compiled by software running that method and are not read one by one before publication — saying otherwise would be the one claim here that could not be checked.