Not a very flatteringg picture and I think it is backwards because the nose job was done on the right side. This is a result of a Basal Cell Carcinoma, a mild form of skin cancer and the least serious and most treatable kind.
I had a biopsy done a few weeks ago and then scheduled my appointment to have a procedure known as Mohs something surgery (named after the inventor of the procedure Dr. Mohs - not nose). It is a simple procedure in which the area around the Basal Cell is numbed by injecting Novocaine around the area. The Dr then slices off the offending cells and, while you wait for about 1 hr, he freezes the offending cell (s) and slices them and views them under a microscope to see if he got all of the cells. If not then he repeats the procedure until he gets a "clean" sample. This means that all of the cancer is gone.
In my case numbing the area was PAINFUL because he required 6-8 separate injections in order to numb the area completely and this was repeated 3 times until all the cancer was gone. So I figure I received 18-24 injections in my nose.
Then all of the "bleeders" were cauterized and that smells just awful. The nurse then packed my nostril with 2 round cotton things that dentists use and told me they had to stay in until I see the plastic surgeon today. I was then bandaged up and told to keep my head up and to not ben dover (a high school name we created).
So last night I tried to sleep in my recliner and that didn't work so I went to bed. I couldn't use my c-pap machine because of the bandages and I had to breathe through my only functioning nostril which became over used and refused to cooperate so I snored all night.
Today I will go see the plastic surgeon and maybe he will take skin from my ear to patch up the canyon in my nose (like they did to my dad). In which case you will have to talk to my nose and not my ear.
The whole procedure took over 4 hrs and as I was leaving the Dr. said I should have all of those pre-cancerous spots on my forehead looked at.
Now I am paying for all those summers as a teenager that I spent at the beach and before we ever heard of sun block.
4 comments:
Yikes.
I hate not being able to breathe through my nose.
That doesn't sound very fun. I am still having some nose trouble, myself. I hope all goes well.
One of the lovely skin conditions we inherited. I just hope you won't have ear hair growing out your nose like dad did. His poor face is soooo carved up, and he continues to have cancerous area removed.
Good luck with the healing and glad you got it taken care of. I have had many opportunities to be acquainted with different skin cancers in various pathology courses I have taken. I no longer even mow the lawn without a broad hat on.
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