Patient's Query
Hello doctor,
My son has a preauricular sinus infection for almost 24 days now. He is taking antibiotics regularly, but the infection is still there. Pus is getting produced on a daily basis. Twice the doctor brought out pus through a syringe. He also made a cut to drain the pus, and then he made that cut a bit big, but it was of no use. The other ENT specialist says he will make a big cut and wash it and then put a dressing inside, and he will repeat this for few days. Is this method safe? Please advice.
Hello,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
A preauricular sinus is a tract that opens outside through a punctum and it is lined by epithelium. Imagine a very small tube lined by epithelium which produces skin over it and debris. With time the debris gets accumulated provides a nidus for bacterial growth and becomes infected. The solution is not a small or big cut, or in doctor's term, aspiration or syringing. You need a complete excision of the tract. It is a surgical procedure done under general anesthesia. Please do not go for these cuts as they do not solve the problem. When you have a sinus tract, it is easy to excise. When you make multiple cuts and distort it, the surgery becomes painstakingly difficult. I suggest you get the surgery done at a good place. But the main part I would like to emphasize is the current treatment is absurd. Whether the wound caused is an infected sinus or just an infected wound near to the sinus will depend on our examination. For the time being, I would advise you to continue antibiotics to remove the infection as any surgery will be done only in the absence of infection.
Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!
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