Baseball sized abscess treated over 1 month. Full story in description and a link to a video of gauze unpacking.
I had a subcutaneous cyst on the back of my left leg for several years. It was probably well over ten years ago when I first noticed it. Several times I had doctors look at it over the years, and the consensus was always that it was entirely benign and did not need immediate removal, but that if it ever became infected, or inflamed, or otherwise started acting funky, that it would need to be removed.
About two months ago, the cyst began to swell, slowly at first. I kept an eye on it closely, but it wasn't causing any irritation or showing any outward sign of other issue. I took a wait and see approach. By the final week of May, it was considerably inflamed and very red, and I knew it was time to have something done. It began to experience meaningful pressure pains around June 2nd.
Image 1 shows the cyst as it appeared on June 4th before heading into urgent care to have it dealt with.
The initial visit took up most of an hour, and GOD I wish I had video of that first session. The doctor and an assistant made an incision and began to drain the infected fluid inside the cyst as well as removing cystic fluid. They would squeeze hard around the site to get out as much material as possible. It was the 3rd most excruciating pain I have ever experienced, beaten only by a gallbladder attack and the more severe leg cramp of my life. Cultures were also taken to be analyzed to identify the infection.
When they were done for the day, there was still a significant amount of cystic fluid left and some infected material. But they had done what they could for then. A treatment plan was devised. The abscess would be packed with thin gauze ribbon to hold its shape and let it heal from the inner layers out and to keep it from closing up completely. Around 3 feet of gauze ribbon in total were used on that first day. The gap in my leg was apparently about the size of a tennis ball. I would come in every 2 days to have more draining done and the abscess repacked with fresh gauze. I was placed on Doxycyline- a powerful antibiotic- at a dose of 200mg a day.
Image 2 shows the site wrapped and bandaged after that first visit.
Despite the intensity of this treatment and the nature of the cyst itself, I was back at work the next day. Throughout this entire ordeal, I was able to move and work just fine. The only issue was some significant fatigue the first week.
Image 3 shows the site when I was changing the dressing one day after the first visit. You can see the portion of the gauze left outside the abscess to make it easier to remove. Visit continued every other day.
Images 4 and 5 show looks at the site from that first week. The squeezing of cystic fluid from the abscess at each visit was still excruciating, but there was less every time, the visits got shorter, and the amount of packing get getting less. The results from the cultures also game back. I was actually suffering from a MRSA infection. Which is extremely serious. But I was already on the correct antibiotic, and signs of infection were already mostly gone, so no additional steps were necessary based on this finding.
By the end of the second week, I was getting about 12 inches of packing in the leg, and the plan was changed to check in every 3 days instead of every 2 days. I was able to take a bath at the doctor's advice to help flush out the site.
Image 6 shows the tag of the gauze coming from my leg after that bath.
Image 7 is a simple look at the leg from the third week.
The following link shows a video from the third week. In it I briefly narrate my story and remove the gauze from my leg before another bath.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6W6MOcXTn8A
July 3rd was my final doctor visit. The abscess was unpacked, examined, and determined good to be let to heal up on its own.
Image 8 shows my leg anus as it currently looks. It will slowly continue to heal over the coming weeks. I still have 3 more days before I am done with my Doxycyline.
The total cost for this endeavor for my uninsured self was $890.00 over the course of a month.
$250.00 for the initial visit
$50.00 for each followup visit (12 total)
$40.00 for antibiotics picked up in office (2 times, could have gotten cheaper at pharmacy but I'm lazy)
Still less than I would have likely paid for a single ER visit, let along ongoing wound care.