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Atheroma on the neck
Last reviewed: 07.07.2025
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Various irritations and redness often form on the neck, this is due to the fact that there are many sebaceous glands in this area, in addition, the neck is often subject to mechanical friction against the collars of clothes. The slightest violation of personal hygiene rules, contamination of the skin in this area, increased sweating and other seemingly insignificant reasons can provoke the formation of a subcutaneous cyst.
Atheroma on the neck most often develops quickly, is prone to inflammation and suppuration, can reach large sizes and cause not only discomfort, but also pain. Blockage of the sebaceous gland duct, combined with a constant mechanical factor (friction of the neck against clothing), leads to the cyst quickly filling with purulent contents and growing to enormous sizes. The most typical localization of atheroma in the neck area is the upper lateral and posterior zone, where the most active holocrine (sebaceous) glands are located.
In the clinical sense, atheroma on the neck is quite specific, it is easy to determine both visually and by palpation. The cyst is palpated as an oval, painful seal with clear contours and thinned skin during the inflammatory process. Cases of spontaneous pus breakthrough are not uncommon, but the atheroma does not disappear, but only decreases in size, since it retains both its capsule and part of the epithelial secretion inside it. Thus, independent opening of the cyst cannot be considered a way to get rid of atheroma, it, one way or another, requires surgical removal to avoid relapses and transformation into an extensive abscess.
During the surgical intervention, all parts of the cyst are removed - the cavity, the capsule within healthy tissues. The operation is considered simple and is classified as so-called minor surgery, i.e. operations performed on an outpatient basis.
[ Atheroma on the back of the neck
The favorite location of sebaceous gland cysts on the neck is the back surface. Atheroma on the back of the neck is formed as a result of increased sweating, sebum secretion, blockage of the gland's excretory duct. This process is activated by elementary non-observance of hygiene rules, if the neck is dirty, clothes are not changed for a long time, there is a factor of mechanical friction of the collar, irritation inevitably develops in this area, often acne, as well as subcutaneous cysts.
The initial stage of atheroma formation most often occurs without obvious clinical signs, the cyst does not hurt and does not provoke discomfort. It can only be detected by palpation. If the atheroma becomes inflamed, suppuration develops in it, the symptoms become more obvious - pain, swelling in the area of inflammation, redness of the skin and visible signs of a purulent process appear. A purulent atheroma on the back of the neck can develop to gigantic sizes - more than 5 centimeters in diameter, such neoplasms are subject to emergency surgical removal.
It should be noted that the abscess can open on its own, but the atheroma does not disappear, as it remains inside in the form of an empty capsule, prone to recurrence - new filling with sebaceous, epithelial contents.
To date, there is no effective conservative method of treating atheromas; the only generally accepted method of effective cyst removal is surgery. The most common types of surgical intervention are:
- An operation using a surgical scalpel, when under local anesthesia an incision is made in the skin in the cyst area, the atheroma is removed together with the capsule and contents. Relapses are possible only in case of incomplete cleaning, if parts of the atheroma remain in the subcutaneous tissue.
- Atheroma on the back of the neck can be easily removed using laser technology. This method is very effective for small cysts without signs of inflammation. The cyst is opened, its cavity is treated with a laser, thus completely neutralizing the internal structures of the atheroma. The laser method is also good because it does not leave postoperative scars on the neck.
- Removal of atheroma on the neck using radio wave method. This method is considered the safest, most painless and most preferable for the head and neck.