Pilonidal Lesions, Cysts, & Lipomas Removal in Draper, Utah

Pilonidal Lesions, Cysts, & Lipomas

Deciding if removal is the right option.

Several conditions will cause a growth in your body that is different from the surrounding normal form. They are usually classified as benign or malignant (cancerous). Some are in between but are rare. Thankfully most are benign. The most common forms more easily recognized by people are those that are on the skin or just under the skin in a layer called the “subcutaneous tissue.”

The general approach I discuss with patients is that if there is a lump or bump that is known or suspected to be benign, and it is growing or symptomatic, meaning it bothers you in some way. High consideration should be given to having it removed. Most of these can be removed in the office unless too large or would be too uncomfortable to have surgically excised without more than just ‘local’ numbing injection medication. An office procedure will save potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Often these can be removed at the same time as your initial visit. When scheduling, please let us know if you would prefer this possibility.

What happens in the office to remove these?

In a procedure room in the office, the area is sterilized with a cleaning solution. Local anesthetic medication is then injected with a tiny needle to keep you from feeling the procedure. The lesion is then removed and the opening closed with absorbable sutures in most cases, and a dressing is placed. Patients can then leave immediately. Larger lesions may need a prescription for pain medication. Most people do very well with Tylenol and Ibuprofen until the discomfort resolves. Follow-up can be as needed.

Risks

There is always some chance of bleeding or infection anytime a break in the skin occurs. Precautions are taken to prevent infection, and the chance of that happening is low at two percent. Unless there is a concern for contamination or an infected lesion, antibiotics are not needed. Care to avoid excessive movement of the area or hard pressure contact will lessen the chance of healing problems. The absorbable sutures last for a couple of months and allow plenty of time for the strength to return in the healing process. Activity can be as tolerated. Scarring will occur to some degree. Some people have more pronounced healing from surgical incisions than others. Careful surgery and allowing an area to heal without excessive forces to separate the skin edges are the best options for minimizing scarring from surgery.

Re-occurrence of the lesion may happen depending on the type. Some are completely removed and will never return, and others, such as large embedded lipomas, can, if any cells remain. Every effort is made to completely remove a lesion without taking so much tissue that a larger defect remains, but enough to ‘get it all.’ Lesions that can be very deforming or are on the face may need to be addressed by a plastic surgeon.

Pain – Occasionally, small nerves can be divided when removing any tissue. The result is numbness of the area or a sensitive/tender spot that can result in pain or tenderness. The chance of this happening is low and unpredictable. Steroid injection to a painful area may thin the scarring. Occasionally re-excising the area may help.