Human skin seems to like to grow other things on it that aren’t skin cells. Warts, moles, skin cancers, pimples, actinic keratoses, and cysts. Cysts are noncancerous, closed pockets of tissue that can be filled with fluid, pus, or other material. They can develop as a result of an infection, from clogging of the sebaceous glands (cystic acne), or around foreign bodies such as earrings. They are common, can feel like large peas under the skin’s surface, and usually don’t require much attention. But sometimes they do. Here’s some info on when the team at Deschutes should remove that cyst.

Why should a cyst be removed?

Most cysts are quiet neighbors just living off the land, your skin. They keep to themselves and can usually be left alone. But in cases where they are inflamed, rupture, or become infected we’ll usually want to take them off.

How we remove cysts at Deschutes

We remove a cyst is dependent upon its location and type.

  • Injections — Inflamed cysts can be injected with a steroid or triamcinolone acetonide to minimize the inflammation and cause the cyst to shrink.
  • Aspiration — For this method, we may inject the cysts with an enzyme solution to make the cyst contents easier to remove. We then insert a needle and drain out the contents of the cyst. Afterwards, we may inject the cyst with a steroid to make it go the way of the dodo bird.
  • Incision and drainage — Simply put, we cut the cyst open and drain out its contents. With this method, however, the cyst often returns.
  • Excision — Obviously, this is the surest way to make the cyst go away. But we can’t cut it out if the cyst is still inflamed. We have to treat that first.
  • Minimal excision — To minimize scarring, we use a tiny incision if possible, drain the cyst, and then totally remove it through the same small incision.
  • Laser therapy — Our CO2 lasers can vaporize cysts on sensitive areas such as the face. There is only minimal scarring.

Wondering about that per-cyst-ent growth? Call us at Deschutes, (541) 330-0900, and let’s have a look.