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Announcement
"Patients' Choice Award" by Vitals.com
Dr. Sam Naficy has been awarded the "Patients' Choice Award" by Vitals.com - a website dedicated to rating the quality of physicians across the country. Out of 720,000 physicians, only 5% received this honor.
Cysts
Cysts are closed sac-like structures that can be filled with air, fluid, pus, or other solid material. They may form in any tissue of the body, but occur most commonly in the skin. The most common types of skin cysts include:
- Epidermal cyst (or epidermoid cyst)
- Pilar cyst
- Dermoid cyst
- Milia
- Pilomatrixoma
Cyst are generally slow-growing, painless, and smooth to the touch when they are rolled under the skin. The most common types of skin cyst, the epidermoid cyst, are full of keratin, a common protein found in skin and hair. This type of cyst is commonly mislabeled as a sebaceous cyst, which is a much more rare type of cyst.
Small cyst of the left chin, showing a slight whitish hue which is typical of epidermoid cysts when close to the skin
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Cysts can occur anywhere on the body where there is skin but the face, neck, scalp, and neck are the most common locations.
Slightly larger cysts of the forehead and jaw line resulting in a bulge under the skin
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Treatment
Surgical removal of a cyst is typically performed under local anesthesia. The goal of treatment is to remove the entire cyst including the thin sac wall so that the cyst will not grow back. Very small cysts usually do not require treatment, however larger cysts are usually removed because of their size and potential for infection. If a cyst becomes infected, a small opening into the skin may be needed in order to drain the contents of the cyst.
Large golf ball size cyst of the neck in the process of being surgically removed
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The smaller the cyst is at the time of removal the smaller the incisions needed to remove it. Cyst removal is typically covered by insurance, especially if there is pressure or discomfort from the cyst or if the cyst has ever been infected.
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