'I thought it was a spot - but it turned out to be a cyst and now I have permanent scars on my face'

A woman has been left permanently scarred after she mistook a giant cyst on her face for a spot.

Steph Warkotsch, 30, developed a 2.5cm cyst on her face and needed 30 stitches after it was removed.

The mum-of-two first noticed what she thought was a blemish on her left cheek in October this year, and she tried to draw it out using a face mask and a cold compress, but nothing seemed to shift it.

Over the following week, the blemish started growing so Steph visited her local GP who prescribed her antibiotics. But even after four weeks of taking them, the spot had doubled in size and had become the size of a 10-cent piece.

With her GP reluctant to extract the blemish, they sent Steph for an ultrasound which showed the spot was a deep-rooted begin sebaceous cyst in her bone and sinuses.

Sebaceous cysts are typically harmless, slow-growing bumps under the skin- typically found on the face. After swiftly visiting a skin cancer doctor, they suggested surgical removal would be the safest course of action.

On November 12 2024, Steph underwent a 30-minute procedure that saw the cyst successfully removed and left her with 30 stitches.

Although leaving a "huge" scar on her cheek, Steph says she's "on the mend".

Steph, a health councillor, from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, said: "Even though I'm not prone to blemishes, I thought it was a spot.

"But as I was trying to draw out the gland and it was only getting bigger, I started to worry.

"The pain was unbearable, and I couldn't sleep properly because I couldn't lie on the left side of my face at all.

"It was only when I went to the skin clinic that I felt like I was getting somewhere.

"They reassured me they would remove it and follow the natural wrinkle and smile line which