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Is abscess draining considered surgery?

Abscess incision and drainage are considered minor surgery. In most cases, you will remain awake and receive only a local anesthetic to numb the area around the abscess before the procedure. The incision and drainage can take place in your doctor’s office. Check online for a quote regarding how much abscess drainage usually costs in your area.

For internal abscesses, your doctor might need the help of a CT scan to reach the abscess and place a drain. If the incision and drainage fail to remove the collected fluids, then you may have to be placed under general anesthesia to have surgical drainage in the operating room.

What is an abscess?

What size of abscess should be drained?

Does abscess incision and drainage hurt?

What can you expect after having an abscess drained?

Do I need antibiotics after abscess drainage?

Can an abscess come back after drainage?

* Savings estimate based on a study of more than 1 billion claims comparing self-pay (or cash pay) prices of a frequency-weighted market basket of procedures to insurer-negotiated rates for the same. Claims were collected between July 2017 and July 2019. R.Lawrence Van Horn, Arthur Laffer, Robert L.Metcalf. 2019. The Transformative Potential for Price Transparency in Healthcare: Benefits for Consumers and Providers. Health Management Policy and Innovation, Volume 4, Issue 3.

Sidecar Health offers and administers a variety of plans including ACA compliant and excepted benefit plans. Coverage and plan options may vary or may not be available in all states.

Your actual costs may be higher or lower than these cost estimates. Check with your provider and health plan details to confirm the costs that you may be charged for a service or procedure.You are responsible for costs that are not covered and for getting any pre-authorizations or referrals required by your health plan. Neither payments nor benefits are guaranteed. Provider data, including price data, provided in part by Turquoise Health.

The site is not a substitute for medical or healthcare advice and does not serve as a recommendation for a particular provider or type of medical or healthcare.