1. What is a hair root sheath cyst?
First, sebaceous cyst is the name given to it in the past.
The disease manifests itself as one or more small smooth and firm nodules, generally ranging in size from one to several centimeters in diameter, which can be pushed and are generally free of obvious pain and discomfort. Some patients may develop redness, swelling, rupture, and discharge secondary to infection.
As knowledge of the disease increased, it was found to be unrelated to the sebaceous glands, and in 1960, Pinkus confirmed that the cyst originated from the outer hair root sheath, so it was renamed hair root sheath cyst. Hair root sheath cysts are benign lesions that occur in the skin, and the cause is not well understood. The disease is not very common, but due to the lack of awareness of the disease, it is often easy to misdiagnose the more common epidermal cysts and lipomas as this disease in clinical practice.
2. Is there another name for hair root sheath cyst?
In the process of understanding this disease, there have been many different names: external hair root sheath cyst, hair cyst, powder tumor, sebaceous cyst and so on. Now it has been suggested that the unified name should be changed to: hair root sheath cyst.
3.What kind of people are hair root sheath cysts most commonly found in?
They are more common in middle-aged women.
4.Where do hair root sheath cysts tend to grow?
More than 90% of patients occur on the scalp and occasionally on the neck, trunk and lower legs.
5.Can hair sheath cysts be hereditary?
Some patients with hair root sheath cysts are genetically related, with autosomal dominant inheritance. The lesions are often multiple in genetically related patients, and there are patients with similar diseases in their families.
6.When a pregnant woman has a hair root sheath cyst, will it have any effect on the fetus?
The hair root sheath cyst is a benign skin lesion, usually, the health of the pregnant woman and the fetus is not much effect on the fetus.
7.Is there any relationship between hair root sheath cysts and hyperlipidemia?
Although hair root sheath cyst was once called sebaceous cyst, it is not related to hyperlipidemia. Hair root sheath cyst is a benign skin tumor, and its specific cause is still unclear.
8.How to confirm the diagnosis of hair root sheath cyst?
Hair root sheath cysts have their typical clinical manifestations and preferred sites, more than 90% of them occur about the scalp, in addition, skin histopathological examination is needed to confirm the diagnosis. Skin histopathological examination is one of the common and important examinations in our dermatology department, which is usually performed surgically by cutting a length of skin tissue of about 1 to 2 cm at the lesion and further sending it to the pathology department for microscopic observation and diagnosis.
9.Do all hair root sheath cysts require histopathological examination of the skin?
First of all, if you want to confirm the diagnosis of hair root sheath cysts, you should consult the dermatology department, and you need to improve the histopathological examination of the skin to confirm the diagnosis, and clinical experience alone is often prone to misdiagnosis, resulting in confusion with epidermal cysts, lipomas and other diseases.
10.What are the precautions for patients with hair root sheath cysts in daily life?
Patients with hairy root sheath cysts should pay attention to hygiene in their lives and avoid stimulating behaviors such as rubbing or squeezing with their hands frequently, as repeated stimulation often leads to the possibility of secondary infection of hairy root sheath cysts. If frequent secondary infections occur, patients should also eat less spicy, alcoholic and other irritating foods.
11.How to treat hair root sheath cyst?
Hair root sheath cyst is still the main cure by surgical resection, there are no oral and topical drugs that can completely treat hair root sheath cyst.
12.Do all hair root sheath cysts need to be removed surgically?
Hair root sheath cysts do not always have to be surgically removed, as they are benign skin lesions and generally do not have a significant impact on the patient’s health. If the cyst is relatively small and there are no frequent secondary infections followed by redness, swelling, pain and rupture, it can also be left untreated.
13.Is surgical removal of hair root sheath cysts risky?
It is a simple and minor surgery that can usually be done on an outpatient basis and does not require hospitalization. It can be done within half an hour after using local anesthesia, and there will be no obvious pain and other discomfort during the surgery after anesthesia, which makes the surgery less risky and safe. After the operation, it may produce scars and secondary infection of the wound.
14.Will the hair root sheath cysts leave scars after surgery?
There will definitely be scars after surgical excision of hair root sheath cysts, but they are usually not too obvious, which is affected by the size of the cyst, the site of occurrence and the skill of the surgeon. Therefore, patients who are considering surgical treatment are advised to choose a regular hospital for the procedure. In addition, patients with scarring should choose surgical treatment with caution.
15.When is it appropriate to perform surgery for hair root sheath cysts?
If the hair root sheath cyst has secondary infection, i.e., there is obvious redness, swelling, pain, or even rupture and pus, surgery should not be performed at this time, and anti-infection treatment should be performed first, and surgery should be performed after the redness and inflammation have subsided. In addition, surgery should not be performed in the hot summer months to reduce the risk of postoperative wound infection.
16.What are the precautions after the surgery of hair root sheath cyst?
Patients with hairy root sheath cysts need to change the wound regularly after surgery, not to get wet, and should avoid strenuous exercise. The wound usually recovers in about one to two weeks. Whether or not the stitches need to be removed depends on the sutures chosen at the time of surgery, some need to be removed and some do not (absorbable thread is used).
17.What should be done if the hair root sheath cyst is infected (redness, swelling, pain, rupture, etc.)?
Generally, the first choice is to use topical antibiotics, including: iodophor, Bactrim ointment, fusidic acid ointment, etc. In severe cases, it may be necessary to add oral antibiotics, including: penicillin, cephalosporins, etc. Patients who often have the above conditions may consider elective surgery after the infection is controlled.
18.Can hair root sheath cysts be cured by taking medicine or rubbing?
At present, other than surgical removal, there is no oral or topical medication that can completely treat hair root sheath cysts.
19.Does hair root sheath cysts tend to recur?
Hair root sheath cysts need to be completely removed surgically, if the surgical removal is not complete, the residual cyst wall tissue often leads to recurrence, so try to remove it completely in one surgery. Of course, after the removal of the hair root sheath cyst in one area, hair root sheath cysts may still occur in other areas.
20.Is it possible for a hair root sheath cyst to disappear on its own?
Hair root sheath cysts do not go away on their own, and patients who are considering treatment should choose surgery to remove them as soon as possible.
21.Can a hair root sheath cyst become cancerous?
Hair root sheath cyst is a benign skin lesion with low incidence and very low probability of malignancy, so it is superfluous to worry about the possibility of malignancy to cancer. However, patients should avoid repeated rubbing or squeezing and other stimulating behaviors in daily life.