A Syrian surgeon had to pop a huge abscess located on a man’s jaw open. He admitted that it was the biggest abscess that he has ever seen throughout his entire career, as reported by Daily Mail.
Dr. Makkia posited that the extreme size of the abscess had been caused by poverty and poor oral health. The patient said that the pus started four days before, but the collection of dirt had increased at an alarming rate.
Dr. Makkia had to spend twenty minutes cleaning out the remainder of the pus inside the hollow void. The patient then had to spend three days after the surgery to recover from his painful situation.
Dr. Makkia said, “This abscess was very large and if it hadn't of been drained, it would have got bigger and bigger. The man felt some pain while I was removing the abscess because of the inflammation around it.”
He continued, “But unfortunately, abscesses are very common and I have done several similar procedures in the past. And I predict this won't be the last.”
According to the National Health Services, the formation of most abscesses is caused by a bacterial infection. It can also form in various parts of the body.
When bacteria get inside the body, the immune system sends white bloods cells that will fight the infection to the area where bacteria succeeded to penetrate.
While the white blood cells destroy the bacteria, some of the tissues around the area dies. These dead tissues would create a hole that gets eventually filled with pus. Thus, forming the abscess.
The severity and longevity of abscess depend on its size. If it’s smaller, it has the tendency to go away and shrink by itself without the need of external treatment or force. Larger ones, such as what the patient had, however, require surgical incision.
Patients with abscess are commonly given antibiotics to fight the infection before the doctor drains the pus through a small incision.
The video recording of these kinds of surgeries is becoming more and more popular thanks to the human curiosity and unexplained satisfaction they get from watching the videos.
As Dr. Sandra Lee, a Youtuber and a dermatologist, said, “You can monetize your videos and it is sort of win-win-win situation. It's good for my patients that have blackheads, because insurance doesn't cover the removal.”
Dr. Lee continued, “So, many dermatologists we won't remove them, they say, ‘You have a blackhead there but don't worry about it'. But now, I'll do the extractions for free if my patients let me videotape and use the video. Of course, I make them anonymous and remove anything identifying.”
