Dermatologist Questions Dermatologist

Can I remove a sebaceous cyst myself?

I am a 34 year old male. I want to know if I can remove a sebaceous cyst myself?

7 Answers

First and foremost, we must verify that you have a sebaceous cyst and nothing else. Instead of being on the skin, a sebaceous cyst is located beneath it. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, it can be taken out by injecting anesthesia into the skin, making an incision, and taking out the capsule. Usually, stitches are used to close the incision.
No
Hi,

Absolutely not. They usually are deep, and if you don’t remove the capsule, will come back.
No
No.
As a physician, I would not advise it. Typically, these have a thin cyst wall that must be meticulously removed in order for it to not recur. Doing any procedure on yourself has many risks, the most likely would be scarring and making the cyst more difficult to remove later on - due to the scarring under the skin. More severe risks are obviously possible.

Anyways, I wish you the best and hope you will look into a board certified dermatologist to help out. I realize medical care can sometimes seem expensive, but honestly someone may only charge you 200 or so dollars to have a cyst removed. That's like two oil changes. Think about it.
I remember asking a friend of mine long ago a provocative question like this...and his response was a gentle and diplomatic:
"well...I would not recommend it"

The term sebaceous cyst is a usually a misappropriation. In fact sebaceous cysts are quite uncommon. What the general public comes to describe as a sebaceous cyst is really an epidermal inclusion cyst. What's the importance? Well epidermal cells produce a protein called keratin. A common epidermal inclusion cyst is chock full of keratin. Keratin seems to be extremely irritating and noxious when it is exposed to the deeper layers of skin. Most of the ways that a person will try to remove a cyst by themselves is by squeezing or poking the cyst. Although one my expunge some of the keratin contents out of the body, most likely keratin will be pushed into the deeper layers of skin. When this happens, the area becomes so abscessed and inflammed that the lesion that the very next day, they are calling doctor for help. Getting rid of these cysts outside of the office never seems to be a good plan.