kp, we remove a lot of them at work... they are very common. The worst part of them, besides the pain, is that they can apparently become infected and/or grow into a fistula tract. The surgery is a very simple one, and if I had to have one done myself, I wouldn't be stressing it-- just to put it into some perspective, it should only take about 20-30 minutes of actual surgery time. Obviously any surgery YOU have to have, makes you worry a lot more than one somebody else has to have.
I have heard that they are painful as hell post-operatively, though. So, make sure you get a good prescription for post-op pain management covered with your surgeon.