A Surgery Afternoon (or This Has Been Over A Decade In The Making)

On Monday this week, I had the little surgery with my dermatologist to remove the wart on my face (or whatever it is). This has been something I have been dealing with for so long, and it’s crazy to think that I just had a surgery to take care of it. I’m still in a bit of pain from it all, but I am glad I did it.

I haven’t gotten the results from the biopsy yet, but I’m going to assume that it was a wart. That’s what every doctor has told me it was. When I first got it when I was 18, the dermatologist I saw did 1 freezing treatment and it went away within a few days. It was so easy and simple and I thought it was done forever. But when it grew back, it seemed to come back with a vengeance.

I’ve done so many freezing treatments with so many doctors and that was always their first choice with treatment. When one doctor finally said it might need to be surgically removed, I went to a plastic surgeon to discuss it and was pretty much told it was a bad idea. I just kept going to new doctors and having them try to freeze it. And it never worked.

If it was just a boring wart, I don’t think I would have cared as much. But this was painful and causing issues and I wanted it gone. So when the newest dermatologist I met (for an unrelated issue) said that it would be a quick and easy surgery, I decided to go for it.

I knew that this would involve some shots since they had to numb my skin. And I knew it would probably hurt after the numbing medication wore off. But those negatives would be worth having this done with and not a problem in my life anymore. I did ok with the numbing shots, but they weren’t fun. My doctor understood that I hate needles and he really tried to be nice about it all. He kept apologizing when they had to do more just to make sure I’d be good and numb before he started.

The actual biopsy procedure was so quick. He used a tool that punched out a circle of my skin and that was it! I didn’t feel the punch at all but I was warned I might feel some pressure. But I was so numb and it was so quick that it was over before I knew it! The longest part was getting the stitches, and there were a few complications.

My doctor knew that there would be blood because he was cutting a hole in my skin. And I know that certain medications can make you bleed more so I didn’t take any of my medications that I could skip for the past week. The only thing I took was my Vyvanse and my anti-nausea medications. However, after my doctor asked if I took any blood thinners, I remembered that I also had taken some Motrin to ease my cramps last week. It wasn’t that recently, but it was still in my system and it was making me bleed more than expected.

Fortunately, it ended quickly and my doctor was able to start working on the stitches. This was the part I hated the most. I could feel him stitching my skin and pulling on it even if it was painless. But it was the weirdest sensation and I really didn’t like it. It wasn’t painful, but it just bothered me. I also could hear random things since this was happening close enough to my ears and that was freaking me out a bit too. But I tried my best to stay still because that would help my doctor do his best work. With this scar being on my face, I wanted to do whatever I could to minimize it.

The entire thing took a little under an hour. It did take time to get everything ready and for the numbing shots to kick in. Plus it took longer than expected because of the bleeding issue. I only got 2 stitches in my face, but my doctor wanted to make sure they were perfect so the scar would be the best it could be. I will always have a scar there now, but it should be better than what it looked like before.

I got to look at the stitches before they covered them up, and I was a bit surprised how tiny they were. I don’t know what I was really expecting, but I thought it would be much more than what it looks like. Right now, it almost looks like a hashtag or pound sign on my chin. I feel like it looks worse now, but when the stitches come out and the scar is healing it will be better.

And in the long run, a scar is going to be much easier to cover with makeup and won’t cause me pain or the other issues I’ve been dealing with. I’m so glad that this is done and while I hate the pain I’m in now I know in the long run I will be glad I did this.

Now, I just have to rock the stitches look for the next week before they come out. Not sure if I’m going to put a bandage on it while I’m out in public (I know I will when I go to my workouts), so it will be interesting to see the reactions of others.

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