Mother of all sebaceous cysts

[Wegovypictures]

I feel like you are all the only people who I can share this with / will enjoy it

I have had a sebaceous cyst on the back of neck for years with no problem. Suddenly it got infected and grew so alarmingly that I had to have it taken out yesterday under general anaesthetic!

Anyone who knows about cysts knows it's normal a 15 minute local anaesthetic job not a two hour surgery!

Sadly I don't have pictures of what came out of it, but it was about the size of a golf ball when I went in...

My question is if anyone knows the healing time for something like this? I'm off to have the packing removed and it redressed later, as the wound needs to be left open (unstitched) to heal 😬😬😬

A friend of mine had a similar one and it was two weeks of trips to outpatients every other day to have a nurse dress and pack it. It healed up beautifully though!

Funny you should say that - I've just found out I have to go back every day to have it repacked with this weird seaweed stuff!

Nurse must be a sporner though, she offered to take a picture of the wound for me while she changed the dressing 😂

I had 3/4 weeks of packing,took 7 weeks to fully heal.

Mine needed packing for 6 weeks (started off every other day, then went to twice a week, then just once a week towards the end) and then dressing at home for a further two weeks after that.

You forgot to share that photo with us....

Oh god these are much longer time frames than I was hoping for I'm away from home and can't go back till the packing is done! And the hospital is a 90minute round trip .

Sadly there is no photo as I didn't have my phone on me, will try again today!

“Tissue Viability Nurse” is just a euphemism for Sporner.

100% sporner nurse here!

Still want a picture...? I have one but not sure if it needs a trigger warning 😂

Like you really need to ask... Post away! I think you can mark it as "sensitive content" so it appears blurred unless someone clicks on it.

Do it....do it....do it!

And they didn't film it? Bastards.

Warning...Well this is it 5 days post op. Hope was twice as bit originally 😳😳😳

Can confirm that 'packing' (having material pushed into wound to absorb fluid) is not fun.

This exact thing happened to me a few months ago—long-established sebaceous cyst swelled up into a huge, painful abscess.

Mine was lanced by my GP in the manner of a medieval doctor at a travelling fair though—I almost asked him for a stick to bite on. I had to squeeze the remaining pus out several times a day until it was completely drained.

That was a couple of months ago and there's nothing but a tiny mark where he made the incision now (though he made a much smaller one than yours...). Even the original cyst seems to have gone.

Looks like it's healing really nicely - some nice granulation especially on the right hand side 😀

Looks like its healing really well so far, best of luck with it, and thank you for the photos!

Lordy! It looks so mouth-like that I can imagine it talking to you and the nurse in a horrible sociopathic way.

That is impressive.

Very impressive!

The seaweed dressing is alginate - it forms a gel when it absorbs fluid and is much better than the old fashioned cotton ribbon dressing that we used to use - every time that was dragged out of the wound it took half the new healing with it.

Oh thanks for the explanation! Alginate hurt like nothing else to have picked off so thankfully I'm on Aquacel silver now which is much better. Down to every other day and hoping it won't need packing much in a week or two.

oooh LOVLEY. You are very kind to share that amazing photo. Obvs wish you well, too.

I had one similar pre covid, I had it out under local, it was the size of a hard boiled egg. No packing required sadly luckily.

Dh had similar on his shoulder, 4 years later it has still not fully closed on the surface but is healed within. Think it was packed for 3 weeks.

Yes I have a little hole for want of a better word,all healed but stayed that wayand its been 25 years so definitelynot going to go away,my sister calls it the spider hole.