My 17 year old son has a pharyngeal abscess, what's the best treatment, he don't want surgery, if he does need it, can he stay awake?

I & D: If you son has a pharyngeal abscess, he needs immediate evaluation and treatment. If he is having difficulty swallowing, he may need to have the abscess drained. Many patients who have a pharyngeal abscess have a difficult time opening their mouth because of the associated pain and usually have the abscess drained under general anesthesia.

Drain it: Abcesses need to be drained. This is the optimal treatment and the way to get better sooner and prevent further complications. He will likely need antibiotics in addition, but countless studies have shown if you don't drain the pus, total recovery is much less likely and many more problems. Talk to anesthesia about options during the draining, but you wouldn';t catch me staying awake for it!

Surgery now asleep: This is an emergency.If ignored, it can rupture spontaneously, cause immediate respiratory distress and lead to death.The bodies awake reflexes would potentially trigger an aspiration, swallowing the debris into the lungs,again leading to death.Have immediate surgery asleep and have the kid deal with it. Otherwise it could be suicide by hardheadedness.