Anatomy of a Pilar Cyst

Death by acne, they all said
when the volcano exploded on his head.
Full of blood and pus and gore,
It dripped and splattered on the floor.

Katley Demetria Brown 2012

In February this year I had a pilar cyst removed from my head.  These are benign growths that contain fat and keratin. When they get infected,  they can become quite painful, especially before they "erupt." Sometimes they don't erupt and and the safest way to remove them is to see a medical professional.  My husband removes them if they have an "outlet", otherwise I make an appointment with the local dermatologist.

Pilar cysts are caused by infected sebaceous glands.  They are genetic, tend to run in families, and are benign growths (not cancerous).

See video below for how the procedure is done.  As long as the doctor injects enough painkiller (the most painful part of the procedure is the needle going in), the actual cyst removal is painless.  Afterwards, depending on the size and the number of cysts removed (three is the maximum that can be removed at one time),  the doctor prescribes a painkiller.  Vicodin works the best for the first 24 hours, especially with larger cysts; then the pain is manageable with ibuprofen. The doctor removes the stitches in about ten days.

The cysts look like globs of fat with streaks of blood.  When they dry they harden because they are made of keratin (same protein that's in hair or fingernails).

After the doctor removes the cysts, he stitches up the area and cleans it with disinfectant.  There is another visit to the doctor's office to remove the stitches about ten days later.

Pilar cysts, unfortunately, tend to recur.  In my case, I've had surgeries for them every 6-10 years which is not too bad.  My husband has been able to remove a few of them.  Sometimes they have  a small hole where the fat can drain, and then the rest of it pops out with pressure. I use hydrogen peroxide to prevent infection.



There are worse things than pilar cysts, however they can stretch the surrounding skin enough to hurt, and when the hair follicles get infected the damn things have to come out, since they can be quite painful.  When this happens there are bald spots at the location of the cyst because the hair falls out (it grows back when the cyst is removed).

Copyright © 2016 Katley Demetria Brown. Site Designed by Katley Demetria Brown. All Rights Reserved.
Video from YouTube, posted by wkharrismd