How can i remove a big sebaceous cyst from my back? (Photo)

Question

i have suffered with this golf ball size cyst in the center of my back for 15 years. with no health insurance and not having the $10,000.00 or more to have it removed, i want to know what i need to do to have a family member remove it for me. i would do it myself if i could reach it. i'm tired of the embarrassment, and the discomfort. i worry about people feeling it when i hug them, and i cant take my shirt off in public. saw it done on the doctors. looked kind of easy. at wits end. please help

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

See a dermatologic surgeon or plastic surgeon for removal.  This is a common, relatively easy procedure when done by the appropriately trained physician.  Home remedies or procedures are the worst thing you could do for this, as they can get infected, grow larger, or fill with other types of fluids if you manipulate them improperly.  Removal should only cost few hundreds to a thousand depending on who you see.  The number you have given doesn't seem appropriate.  One thing to know about cysts in this area, is that they easily scar if not surgically removed and sutured appropriately.  Post-operative wound care is extremely important as well as the type of suturing.  Please see someone with experience and a good reputation.  I wish you the best of luck, Dr. Emer.

Arnold R. Oppenheim, MD (retired) · Answer

If your family member is a surgeon, plastic surgeon or dermatologist I would let them remove it. Not sure if I would trust one of this size to a family doctor. The after care treatment is actually more of a problem than the actual excision. Nature abhors a vacuum and this will fill up with fluid, and pus, etc. left to its own. If your family member is not in one of these specialties, consult with a physician who is. Not knowing who gave you the $10,000 number, but you should be able to find a dermatologist or maybe a surgeon who will excise this for a few hundred dollars. This is an in office procedure done under local anesthesia. Thus, not terribly expensive.   Trying to do this on yourself, is obviously a very foolish idea , and would lead to a mess that would be far more expensive for us physicians to fix up than the $100-200 you would save.   By the way, this actually looks more like an epidermal inclusion cyst than a sebaceous cyst. The latter are actually quite rare while epidermal inclusion cysts are seen frequently.

How can i remove a big sebaceous cyst from my back? (Photo)

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How can i remove a big sebaceous cyst from my back? (Photo)

Answers (2)

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Everything you need to know about Cyst Removal

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.