Can My Facial Cyst Be Removed?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Can you do surgery or a procedure to remove this facial cyst, which is by my eye on the right side? It’s small now.  It has previously gotten infected and the whole side of my face swelled up. I worry that it could get infected again.

A: Most facial cysts are known as dermoid cysts. They come from the skin and have a small pore associated with them if one looks close enough on the overlying skin. This is the pathway by which they get infected. Their internal shedding of their skin lining accounts for  why they gradually enlarge.

Infections are common behaviors in facial cysts and speaks to the need for their removal. Once infected they become more adherent and harder to remove because of the scar that is created around them that becomes attached to the cyst capsule. The location of your facial cyst at the mid portion of the zygomatic arch is also in the path of the frontal branch of the facial nerve so greta care must be taken in its removal to prevent injury to the nerve that is responsible for moving your forehead an brows. For this reason, its removal in the operating room even under local anesthesia nye be advised.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana