It never ceases to amaze my that people will let a cyst grow for decades before having it drained and removed. This woman has waited for 22 years and in that time, it accumulated a massive amount of gross pus. It must have been a real relief getting rid of all that goo. Meanwhile, we can take perverted pleasure in watching the show.
A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct membrane and division compared with the nearby tissue. Hence, it is a cluster of cells that has grouped together to form a sac (not unlike the manner in which water molecules group together, forming a bubble); however, the distinguishing aspect of a cyst is that the cells forming the “shell” of such a sac are distinctly abnormal (in both appearance and behaviour) when compared with all surrounding cells for that given location.
It may contain air, fluids, or semi-solid material. A collection of pus is called an abscess, not a cyst. Once formed, sometimes a cyst may resolve on its own. When a cyst fails to resolve, it may need to be removed surgically, but that would depend upon what type of cyst it is and where in the body it has formed.
Some cysts are neoplastic and thus, are called cystic tumors; many types are not neoplastic. Some are dysplastic or metaplastic. Pseudocysts are similar to cysts (having a sac filled with fluid), but lack an epithelial lining.
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