elliottsurf: October 2010

Well to my delight and surprise, my little nose is healing up very well. I thought I'd post a photo of the recovery at 3 weeks. The area is still a little red, but as far as I can tell, you can barely see the scar. I was joking that I would be ready for Halloween with the stitches and scars, but to be honest I was very worried that I would look like that forever!

There is a little spot that looks like there might still be a stitch left behind, but I went in to the dermatologist and he said he didn't think it was a stitch. He did say if it was, it would work its way out on its own. I think the body is pretty amazing to heal so quickly. If you want to take a look at the original post you can take a look here.

Here are some photos from my recent skin cancer surgery. The spot on my nose was very small, about the size of a pin head. It was red and looked like a bug bite. I went in to see the doctor because the "bite" would not go away. The biopsy was done and basal cell was determined. Cutting the bad cells and quite a bit of the area around it was recommended. I went with a Mohs surgery where they remove the tissue (mine was about the size and depth of a medium sized pea) and examine it immediately while you wait to make sure they got all of the bad cells. Mine procedure was complete in the first attempt. Here are my observations:

Sorry about the graphic nature of these photos, but I wanted to document this for myself for any future visits.

Day 1_ Holy Cow, that was a much bigger chunk of skin than I had anticipated. When the anesthesia wears off, my nose is pulsing and painful. I take Tylenol every 4 hours through the night (not aspirin or ibuprofen because those contribute to bleeding). The contraption/bandage has to stay on for 24 hours so that pressure can be applied to the wound. It is a little uncomfortable to sleep in, but it looked worse than it was!

Day 2_ After 24 hours I was able to take off the pressure bandage. The wound looks pretty good and I count 8 stitches. The incision is "L" shaped and the surgeon did this to follow the shape of my nose. I think that was a good idea! I lay low all day. Instructions are to clean daily with a diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide and water. I take a q-tip and gently roll it over the incision and stitches to remove any crust. The area is very tender and bubbles up a little at the stitches and in the little crevice on the side. I dry the area well with another clean q-tip, apply Vaseline and cover with a band aid. I apply an ice pack on top of the bandage twice during the day.

Day 3_ I go to work with a bandage on my nose. The day goes well, but I notice when I clean the area at the end of the day, it is much more red and swollen. I don't take any pain medication today, because it feels fine without it, but am woken up at night with a twinge of pain and then can't get comfortable. I take some pain reliever and ice the area for 15 minutes and it feels better.

Day 5_ I drive an hour to an 8th grade reunion (yes, with the damn bandage on!) and am up until 11:30 (late for me). When I clean the wound, it looks much more red and swollen than it did in the morning. I am slightly worried that something is wrong. The stitches are "hidden" because the skin around them is so swollen. I do get a good night sleep but the area is still pretty red in the morning.

Day 6_ I ice my nose and this helps the swelling, but the area is still red and more crusty. I am getting a bit of blood on the q-tip. I will call on Monday if it looks like any infection is starting.

Day 7_ Area is still painful, a little bloody and really bubbles up with the hydrogen peroxide. Hubby says it looks good and is not infected. I take some pain reliever and go to work and have a good day.

Day 8_ Follow-up for stitch removal-the nurse says it looks a little redder than they like, but that it is not infected! I am very happy to hear that. The Doctor removes the stitches and says the incision looks great. She is pleased with how symmetrical the nose looks even though she took a big chunk out of the left side. If she is happy, then I am happy.

Day 9_ I continue for a week with Vaseline on the incision but don't need a bandage. After a week, it will be OK to put make-up over it. Dr Cronk suggests that I use "paper" tape at night over the scar. She said this will help to keep the scaring at a minimum! She said it works better than Mederma!

Overall, I am very happy with the results of this procedure. We'll see how well the area heals! The bottom line is that it is better to have a scar than cancer!

WEAR SUNSCREEN and a hat!

***** update***** I have posted a photo of what my nose looks like at 3 weeks after the surgery and I think it looks fantastic...you can see it here