Service
Surgery for boils, carbuncles and granulomas
A boil (furuncle) is a purulent inflammation of a hair root; a carbuncle is several boils joined together. When pus has collected and the inflammation does not clear up, it is opened and drained. A hair-root granuloma is a nodule that remains after an inflammation and is removed.
What concerns does it address?
How is it done?
The inflamed spot is opened with a small incision, the pus is emptied and the wound is left open or with a drain so it can clean itself. The wound heals from the inside out, with dressing changes. Repeated inflammations in the same place — armpit, groin, under the breasts — are not boils but hidradenitis.
A boil starts as a painful, hard red lump around a hair root — most often on the neck, face, armpit, buttocks or thighs, where the skin sweats and rubs. The cause is usually a bacterium from your own skin that enters deeper through a damaged hair root. Over several days pus collects in the middle and the boil “ripens”. A smaller boil sometimes opens and empties by itself, with warm compresses. When it is large, very painful, does not open or is spreading, it is opened surgically: we do not wait for it to ripen fully, because the pressure of the pus damages the surrounding tissue.
A carbuncle is several joined boils with multiple openings, most often on the back of the neck or the back; it is deeper, with greater inflammation and often with a raised temperature. It is opened with a wider incision, dead tissue is removed and the wound is dressed for longer. With repeated boils or carbuncles, blood sugar is checked, because they are more common with diabetes, and so is whether you carry the bacterium in your nose.
Granuloma
A hard nodule at the site of a past inflammation or an ingrown hair is cut out in full and the wound is stitched.
When is the procedure not suitable?
With boils and carbuncles, the inflammation is a reason for the procedure, not for postponing it. A boil on the face, especially around the nose and upper lip, should not be squeezed or opened at home — get in touch. With diabetes and a weakened immune system, inflammation progresses faster, so get in touch earlier. A granuloma is removed only once the inflammation has passed.
General reasons for postponing a procedure (pregnancy, breastfeeding, inflammation, a clotting disorder, smoking): When is a procedure postponed?
Anaesthesia
Before a procedure under general or regional anaesthesia, you are seen by the anaesthetist, who works full time at the clinic; the same doctor is also present during the procedure. The anaesthetic assessment and the anaesthesia for larger operations are included in the price of the procedure. What happens before, during and after anaesthesia is described on the Anaesthesia page.
Risks
Expected — pain and discharge from the wound in the first days, a scar where the incision was made.
Occasional — inflammation again in the same place, slower healing with a larger carbuncle, a sunken or wider scar after a carbuncle, new boils in other places if you are prone to them.
Rare — spread of the inflammation into surrounding tissue or into the blood, with fever and chills — this needs an antibiotic and an urgent examination; with a boil on the face, spread towards the eye.
Expected, and rare but serious → Risks and complications: what is the course of healing, and what is a complication?
Price
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Boil | €300–400 |
| Carbuncle | €500–600 |
| Hair-root granuloma | €300 |
| Wound dressing change | €50–80 |
Specialist and team
Specialty: general surgery.
When the procedure is done under sedation or general anaesthesia, the anaesthesia is led by a specialist in anaesthesiology, resuscitation and intensive care who works full time at the clinic.
In the operating theatre, the surgeon is assisted by head nurse Martina Šereg, with the help of nurses Kristina Jurešić and Mateja Tomorad, and in recovery the care assistant Mirjana Kovačić is with you. Martina also looks after preparation, scheduling and contact after the procedure.
Who will operate is decided at the examination, based on the findings and the type of procedure. You know the name of the surgeon before the procedure and meet them at the examination.
What happens at the examination?
The first examination lasts 30 to 45 minutes on average. The surgeon examines the area you are concerned about, asks about illnesses, medicines, allergies and previous operations, and talks with you about what you expect. If the procedure is appropriate and likely to help, you receive a plan: which procedure is proposed, under which anaesthesia, what recovery looks like and what is included in the price. If the procedure is not needed or would not give you what you expect, you will hear that at the examination too.
What if the result is not as agreed?
The result of a procedure is assessed at a follow-up visit, once the swelling has gone down and the scar has matured, not in the first weeks. If it differs from what was agreed at the examination, the same surgeon carries out the correction.
→ Poliklinika Barbel's correction policy
Frequently asked questions
Can I squeeze a boil? No. Squeezing pushes pus deeper and spreads the inflammation, and on the face it can carry bacteria towards the eye. A boil that does not clear up is opened in a controlled way, under local anaesthesia.
Does opening it hurt? It is done under local anaesthesia; after the pus is emptied the pain eases at once, because the pressure drops.
Why is the wound not stitched? So that pus and what remains of the inflammation can drain. The wound heals from the inside out, with dressing changes, in a week or two, a carbuncle longer; heavy work and work in wet conditions should wait until the wound has closed.
Do I need an antibiotic? For an ordinary boil that has been opened, often not — emptying it is the treatment. With a carbuncle, a fever, a boil on the face or diabetes, an antibiotic is given along with the procedure.
How much does the result depend on care after the procedure? The larger the procedure, the more it depends on it, but it always does. Healing takes weeks and months and happens almost entirely at home, so the instructions you receive when you go home, about the wound, physical activity and the scar, are part of the procedure, not a recommendation.
Medical review: doctors of Poliklinika Barbel · October 2026.