Years ago, I developed a subcutaneous cyst (what the doctor said it was). He said that since it wasn’t bothering me painwise, removing it would be elective. So I left it alone.
Up until the beginning of this year, it was only about 3-4 mm in diameter. But it “suddenly” grew to about 6 mm. It’s still painless, but every once in a while my clothes rub it and it kinda gives me the willies.
Right now, I don’t have any health insurance, so I’m loathe to go to a doctor to get it removed, elective or not. But it’s really bugging me (mentally).
So I have a few questions:
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[li]What exactly is in a subcutaneous cyst? Mine is bright white and hard to the touch.[/li][li]Is removing it myself an option, or should it be left up to a doctor?[/li][li]If I were to try removing it myself, where would I begin?[/li][/list=1]
I’d be tempted to try self-surgery myself too, but it’s a bad idea. Removing a cyst would be a bit more involved than digging out a sliver. There are nerves and blood vessels and connective tissue in different areas that surgeons know about, but which the average joe is likely to just slice through… then uh-oh! I wouldn’t know how to apply pain killers (if I could even get them), or know how to get the whole thing out or properly close the incision; can’t even sew right with a machine. And you’d have to worry about infection and loosing your nerve after the first big slice… Now what??!:eek:.
I can’t help but think it would be worth it anyway to have a doctor see it, just in case there are other complications. Do you at least have catastrophic insurance? It tends to be pretty cheap, and it could save you and your family a lot of grief if, god forbid, something terrible did happen.
Now that I think about it, your lack of insurance would seem like a good reason not to cut holes in yourself. I know the temptation, I had a cyst and pondered self surgery, but I’m really glad I had a doctor do it.
Hard to say exactly what this is without examing you.
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Please, see a doctor. Yes, there could be complication with the surgery (bleeding or infection). And what if (I don’t wish to scare you unnecessarily) the “cyst” is a malignancy (cancer)? When an MD removes a piece of you, it is exained by pathologists to determine whether it is cancer or not. I’m not saying that your “cyst” is likely to be cancer or anything. Only that if the MD that originally diagnosed it was being a litle cavalier, you’d never know if you chose the self surgery approach.
Another problem is that lots of growths recurr if you don’t remove the entire thing. You don’t mention where your cyst is, but I wonder how good a view of it you could get.
Still another problem is that you’d like a cosmetically good final result. That’s hard to imagine if you’ve never performed this type of procedure before.
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I find Surgery for Dummies to be a reliable, quick reference (Couldn’t find an online site, but here is Brain Surgery for Dummies)
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
I worked with a guy who claimed he’d removed one himself. From his balls, if you must know. So when I got a cyst there too, I thought I’d give it a try.
Well, I bled like a stuck pig, and had to lie down to keep from fainting. Never did finish the job.
A few years ago I kept getting ingrown toenails on both my big toes. They would get infected and filled with puss. Since I did’nt have insurance, I decided to take action into my own hands and dig out my toenails myself. I did it too. Once I got started, my toenails seemed to get kind of numb, and I was able to dig deep into the skin to get the roots of my toenail. Believe me, the roots are much deeper than you would think.
Yes, I did. I removed both my big toenails myself. It was because I did’nt have insurance and my toenails were starting to smell kind of rotten. I will say that once I started the operation that my toenails started to numb out. Also, the roots of my toenails were about 1/2 inch under the skin.
Since then, I’ve always allowed my big toe nails to grow on the long side, to avoid them becoming ingrown!
I had a subcutaneous cyst on the side of my neck about twenty years ago. The Navy insisted on cutting it out for me while I was in Nuke Power school. I thought this was too bad at the time, 'cause I was hoping I could keep an eye on it myself as a kind of “That’s Enough Radiation For You” device. See, I figured if it ever frew a face and began talking to me, I’d know to request to be transferred out of the field.
I had a cyst on my back that was removed by a dermatologist. I was insured so I don’t know what the full cost was. But don’t do this yourself. Don’t, don’t don’t. It could end up costing you more in the long run. Chance of infection would be significant, and this will hurt like hell with no anesthetic. After all, if your health isn’t worth money, what is? You’re better off learning how to fix your own car and using the money you save on a doctor.