Is It Better to Drain an Acne Cyst or Do a Cortisone Injection to Reduce Skin Atrophy/scarring?

I've had successful cortisone shots from my dermatologist before, but when visiting my plastic surgeon, with a large cyst, he insisted on trying to drain it first, saying a cortisone shot could cause atrophy. He used a sterile needle, but squeezed it pretty hard without success & had to inject it anyway. It was swollen and bloody and now a month later I have a huge depression and some red scarring. I wish I'd just had the injection and wonder if the squeezing ruined my skin. What to do now?

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2 Doctor Answers | Asked by karmalou

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Injecting and draining an acne lesion may both be necessary

Cystic acne lesions sometime require both drainage and injection with cortisone. Acne is a plumbing problem. It starts with a small keratin plug (microcomedone) that prevents a pore from draining. Skin cells and oil build up may result in rupture of the hair follicle deep in the skin which then causes an inflammatory reaction (cyst). These deep lesions are more likely to scar. Steroid injections work by reducing the inflammatory reaction. Drainage helps... more

Treating an Acne Cyst

It is very difficult to answer this question as it really depends on how big the lesion is and what it looks like. There are situations where the acne cyst needs to be drained (incised and drained) first and then injected with cortisone and then are times when the cyst doesn't really have anything that needs to be drained, and so a cortisone injection suffices. There are also lesions which are too small and shouldn't be injected with cortisone as it can leave atrophy. I am sure your... more