A couple of months ago one appeared on my cheek. It’s been ID’ed as such in an informal chat with a guy who’s a doctor but he seemed to imply that if I went to a doctor they probably wouldn’t do anything because of the risk of leaving a scar if they removed it.
Have I got this right? Or would they have a go at removal?
Do they ever just disappear of their own accord? It’s quite small, not a big problem, but if I could get rid of it easily I would.
Mr. S developed one on his cheek over the course of a few years. He finally had it checked out and got the sebaceous cyst diagnosis. The doctor said it was fine to just leave it alone. But one day it seemed to be developing a “head,” like a zit, and so like a zit he tried popping it and produced a little squiggle of waxy goo. It’s pretty much flat and gone now. I think there’s a little scar, but it’s not very noticeable and it’s not like he doesn’t have other imperfections on his face.
Probably not recommended, though. (But we’re not supposed to pop zits either, and what fun is that?)
I’ve heard the “scar will be worse than the cyst” meme before but, gah, who could stand to have that puppy on their face?
Regards,
Picker Extraordinaire
I had one on my cheek when I was 9. It looked like a bad blackhead for about a month before it suddenly swelled up into a boil over a weekend. I went to an outpatient clinic and had it lanced. Today I have a very small indent in my cheek but nothing too unsightly.
If you’re lucky, a very hot compress (facecloth infused with hot water) applied for a long time will melt up some of the sebum that is blocking the pore and causing the cyst. The cyst content can then be expressed, however there is a very large chance of recurrance. I had one removed on my neck in Australia (excised in surgery) with hardly any visible scarring, and years later one came back in the same place and I then had that one burnt out by a doctor here in Japan, which left a horrible scar and discoloration.
I had one on my chest that got infected a couple of different times, that is painful. Eventually it was removed by a plastic surgeon. For removal on your face it is tricky but the best doctor to deal with your face is a plastic surgeon. When I was a kid a plastic surgeon took one off my face and it left a scar which he told me could have been treated with a skin graft but I never did that.
Cysts can easily be removed with a simple surgery using local anesthesia. On your face- definitely see a plastic surgeon. Your insurance may not cover it, since it’s not life-threatening, but there’s a chance they will, and it wouldn’t hurt to try. Lancing and squeezing can alleviate the swelling, but if it’s not surgically removed, along with it’s “sack”, it can and probably will recur. There’s also a chance it can become infected, especially if you pop it with your fingers/fingernails.
Thanks for all advice, much appreciated.
Since it’s on my cheek though couldn’t they remove it from inside the cheek thus leaving a scar only inside? I don’t care about a scar inside my mouth.
It’s near the back of my mouth but it’s clear skin either side of it, inside and outside mouth.
I’ve got a little experience in this area.
First, do not pick it or squeeze it. My doctor explained that most of it is below the skin, so by squeezing it you are squeezing some out into the world but more down into your skin. this can cause it to get infected, in which case it will get huge and hurt really bad (ask me how I know . . . ).
Second, my insurance covered the removal (i.e., it wasn’t classified as a cosmetic procedure–I was in pain so it sure as hell didn’t seem all that cosmetic to me).
Third, I’m sure that techniques are different on the face, but I have a pretty decent scar from my removal (but it’s only been a couple of months). This summer at the beach I’m going to tell people I was in a knife fight. But again, I’m sure the face is different–talk to your dermatologist.
Another vote for the hot compress and rinsing the area.
other than than, a good long shower works to help clean it up.
I just had one removed from my scalp. There’s no scar, but I think my skull is slightly dented from where it was pressing there for a long time.
I’m dealing with this at the moment. I have the splattered remains of an infected cyst on my chest - the infection was painful, and the goo that oozed from it stank to high heaven.
Just after Christmas I was sent to a hospital to have it removed (the outpatient surgeons wouldn’t touch it). My surgeon came into the room, had a look and basically said “Um, I really don’t want to touch that. I’d leave a hell of a mess.” He’s referred me to a plastic surgeon. I wouldn’t have minded, only I trekked all the way to Clydebank for nothing.
So for now, until I see the plastic surgeon, it’s still there. It’s a cratered, scarred mess, and it’s still infected so it still occasionally oozes nasty stuff. Which still smells.
Of course, it had been there for about 10 years before it got infected, but me being me, I didn’t like the idea of having any medical procedure done, so I didn’t have the medical procedure done. If I had done so before the infection, I imagine the thing would be far less messy than it is now.
This- but it was my regular gp, and insurance covered
I had one right between my eyes, and damnit, I wanted it out- squeezed really hard and there was a pop I could only feel in my head.
Over three days it swelled up and totally filled in the indentation between my eyebrows and my nose- I looked like a cat. I wish I had taken a picture.
It hurt like hell, and was only getting larger, but it never became discolored.
I went to the dr and he sliced it open with a scalpel, cleaned it out, dug the ‘sac’ out with some foreceps, and I was on my way in twenty minutes with two stitches.
No visible scarring to anyone else, but to I could see and feel a little bump of scar tissue for years that hadn’t been there before. This happened fourteen years ago, and now there is nothing at all to see or feel of the scar.