Cutaneous cysts

by Dr. Yiannis Neofytou

Cutaneous cysts are hard on pressure, are more superficial on the skin and have mobility. Very often there is heredity and the person who shows them can have more than one. These are essentially enclosed ‘sacs’, where some cells produce sebum which, instead of being secreted on the surface of the skin, is trapped inside the skin. This condition can persist for many years and the bladder can either grow or stay the same.

But sometimes, especially after pressure, it can break. The sebum is released into the skin and the body leads to an inflammatory ‘foreign body’ reaction, an aseptic (germ-free) inflammation. The reason that the body does not recognize this material that it produces is because it normally secretes it on the surface of the skin. In these cases treatment is required, often with the use of antibiotics. When a number of days have passed and the inflammation is gone, it is advisable to remove the residue to rule out recurrences. To avoid this condition and for aesthetic reasons, it is good to remove the cysts preventively in order to have the best possible result. The removal is done under local anesthesia and the incision needed is clearly smaller than the size of the bladder! It is worth noting that not only the contents but also the ‘bag’ of the bladder must be removed to avoid recurrences.