Grim cyst handhold

[blahblahblah76]

Just feeling sorry for myself and wanting a handhold / people who've had similar I think.

Long standing cyst on head, abput 1.5-2cm so fairly big, thinking of removal but then suddenly decided to swell and got tender a month ago, then (gross) burst. It spent a week oozing / bleeding and is now about 40% scabs. Occasionally still oozes. GPs useless, loads of antibiotics but maybe inflamed and not infected as swab negative. They said had to settle before could be removed, very distressing as was no sign of it settling and now over 2cm, so got private dermatologist appointment (different guy to my usual as usual one on leave) who said nonsense, can remove, just might be a bit more involved and trickier recovery. Made it all sound horrible. He also mentioned possibly not benign which completely threw me as every GP and my usual dermatologist all very confident was benign (and usual dermatologist saw it at the swollen stage).

Anyway. Have to wait a month for removal even privately and in meantime the grimness of it, difficulty washing hair or managing to cover it, waking up with gunk in my hair, and worrying about the op and consequences is getting me down.

Anyone had similar can tell me it'll be ok?! Part of me is terrified its really serious and part of me is its just an inflamed cyst,minor operation to remove, not a big deal in say 3m time.

You should watch Dr Pimple Popper on TV as well as m.youtube.com/@DrPimplePopper
If you’re squeamish, maybe not!

She removes cysts and lipomas and other stuff all the time. From her I know your dermatologist will need to make sure he removes the sack these cysts grow in otherwise it might grow back.

Meanwhile just keep washing your head as much as you’re comfortable with until your appointment. You’ll be fine.

Thank you. Does she remove big ones too? It seems massive 😳

anyone had a similar 2cm diameter cyst removed? i keep reading awful stories about it and am freaking myself out while waiting for next consultant appointment

Oh no, that sounds rubbish, and worrying. Hope you get some good advice soon.

I also have a long standing cyst on the top of my head. It's never done anything so I have no advice for you. But I am starting to lose A LOT of hair due to medication and it's becoming really visible! It's on the side, like a small horn that's growing. So that's shit too

I havent had a cyst but I have had malignant melanoma surgery. I have Ehlers Danlos and my skin will not stay stitched so three times now I have had open wounds healing from the base up. This means I've had weeping 'holes' on my face/head for a long time, skin takes ages to heal from the base up.

I found washing hair over the bath much easier, and was a relief to wash the latest ooze away. It was also far worse/more noticeable for me than others, but that doesn't help.

I am sure that it will feel so much better once excised with neat edges, and if you have functional collagen they can stitch/close wounds with so much less skin than you'd imagine.

Hope you get answers soon, the waiting is the worst bit

Yes! Much bigger than yours so don’t worry. The cyst will continue to ooze until the sac is removed. It is always benign but being doctors they have to submit to pathology just to check.

Honestly watch this show - it will make you feel loads better.

Had tons removed and it’s no big deal / annoying that I am so prone to them

did have one that exploded as the doctor took his knife to it and he had to find clean clothes

my current big one is probably 3cm wide

I've had cysts removed from my scalp before @blahblahblah76 . It's been totally fine. Local anaesthetic. Zero pain. They've come back though. Not sure if they're new cysts or of it's the old cysts returning.
I feel very self conscious about it too. I don’t let DH stroke my hair and I'm always embarrassed when I see the hairdresser.

I had a similar size cyst removed off the back of neck. Took a surprising amount of time for the procedure, maybe 20 mins. I was expecting to be in and out in a couple of minutes. Had a couple of stitches. Healed fine. I must have a lot scar as my physio noticed the scar the other week. Didn’t feel a thing having it done. Good luck.

Sounds like a pilar cyst if its on your head. Dr pimple popper has definitely removed larger ones and multiple ones from people's heads. See also Bad Skin Clinic and Skin A&E

I had a 6cm cyst removed off the back of my neck. Had to happen under general and took months to heal! I have a thread on here. But benign and was always going to be. 2cm doesn’t sound too bad OP and probably not deep enough to need significant aftercare!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/sporner_corner/5184413-mother-of-all-sebaceous-cysts

Oh thank you so much everyone for the reassurance.

So sorry to hear about your difficulty healing @Phunkychicken I hope you are ok. Good to know about the stitches maybe being possible. I am terrified that all the scabby skin means they can't suture it now like they were going to, esp as theres not a lot of spare skin on your head (if only it was on my flabby stomach!)

Are yours all on your scalp @childofthe607080s ?

I think its just freaking me out how it continues to ooze a bit every day, and the scabs don't hold it back. The GPs said would heal but I guess the nurse and derm are right that it won't while its full so either lance and drain, or remove, but derm said no point draining if can get removed in few weeks. Just seems ages to sit here with a weeping wound in my hair, and I'm bricking it over what the op might involve. I've had a melanoma in situ with WLE removed before, and a c-section plus loads of other minor stuff, but somehow with it being on my scalp I'm really scared about it. And the possibility of malignancy - I was always told pilar cysts are benign but google now says they can very rarely turn bad. If I'd known I'd have had it whipped out years ago. Bloody hindsight. Although I think its extremely rare. But still. Ugh.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qtFf6KDYU2A

This should link to a video where Dr Pimple Popper removes numerous head cysts.

I did about 8 years ago. Similar to you, it burst, then failed to heal. I ended up with a bald patch and an infected would. The removal was simple, stitches in for a week or two then absolutely nothing.

Oh I have had a few in other places too - although those can often be forced out ( zit popping on steroids !)

So I finally got it removed today, managed to get an earlier appointment! He had to dig around a bit though so now my head feels pretty painful although weirdly not directly on the incision. Bit of post op bleeding but the nurses just shooed me home with spare gauze and a dressing placed precariously on my hair... Feeling very sorry for myself!! Those with experience of getting cysts removed, how long til my head doesn't feel like its been sliced open and rummaged around in?!

Are you taking any painkillers? I hope it heals quicker than the cyst I had removed about 7 weeks ago from the top of my thigh! Because I’m on Warfarin and because of where it was located it basically opened up every time I moved. 48 hours after the surgery I had to go to A & E because it kept bleeding so much. They gave me an adrenaline injection into the wound. It’s still a bit bruised! I couldn’t even sit on a chair for a couple of days. I’d take a cyst on my head over that any day!

Ouch that sounds awful @hollyhobbi ! Hope its fully healed for you soon.

Just paracetamol for me. The incision feels fine but its extremely tender /bruised-like feeling on my scalp adjacent to it. I think he rummaged around a lot getting the disintegrated cyst out...is that a thing?! I'd feel better if the incision itself was what hurt, I keep panicking something more serious is going on..

The stupid dressing is practically off as its not really sticking to my hair, so is already sitting way above the wound like a ridiculous hat perched on my head, so going to try to peel it off my hair now. Fun times!

Take it easy for a few days and don’t brush or wash your hair for at least 3 days

the poking about is making sure they get the root of it all out or it comes back

then baby shampoo avoiding the area when it feels better - it’s normally quite quick to settle unless you brush the stitches or anything stupid

you can also get antiseptic spray if you are very concerned

I forgot to say the stitching up took ages so I asked the nurse how many there were. 16 of them! The surgeon had said I’d have a few! It’s only now that the wound has stopped hurting. Yes, they have to go quite deep to make sure the who sac is taken out otherwise they can come back. I’m still putting a little dressing on it even weeks later just to protect it. I managed to find a pharmacy which had the right sized dressing after two weeks and only cost 67c per dressing. Boots ones were a lot more expensive and kept coming off! @blahblahblah76 do you have to go back to get the stitches out? Usually they use none dissolvable ones. Oh and if you do take paracetamol before hand!

Thanks guys. I guess feeling bruised / sore internally adjacent to the actual cyst / incision site is probably normal then? Just not sure how he rooted about that far over!

I'll give it 48hr then if not improving check with the nurses.

Thank you very much for all the tips. Only 4 stitches so very small area, just like I say is hurting disproportionately across my head from it! 16 stitches wow @Hollyhobbi !

A friends dh has just had a 6cm and 3cms cysts surgically removed. It was complicated by the fact he was on bloodthinners so the scalp site took longer to heal but it looks so much better now. And he doesn't have to wear hats to hide it!

OP was it a sebaceous cyst? (sometimes referred to as a Pilar cyst?) If so l've had a few of those removed. Mine were done at my GP's and a dressing wasn't used for any of them. It shouldn't be too painful afterwards just a bit tender though check with the nurse if it's still hurting after a few days to make sure. All mine healed well and hair grew back quite quickly.

Yes a pilar cyst. They only put a dressing on as it kept bleeding. The incision is mostly pain free except if I raise eyebrows or laugh 🙄 Called nurses about the bruised feeling elsewhere and they said (as expected) just see if it settles in few days. Just resting a lot.