So, my surgery took almost 5 hours. If you are familiar with
Mohs Surgery you will know why. Essentially, he took 1 huge chunk out. Then, 30 minutes later, took a small sliver, followed by another sliver, followed by a fourth. Then I got the all clear and he stitched me up. He felt confident that a plastic surgeon wasn't needed to do the close. The worst 2 parts were the repeated numbing shots needed for each layer that was removed and the AWFUL smell from the cauterization between each cut. Also, seeing the large chunk as it was removed from my nose wasn't wonderful either.
Oh, actually, I think my favorite part was the repeated blows to my nose's ego. First, he tried to reassure me by saying "it won't look any worse than the spot..." Then, he told me I had a bump on my nose and it gave him "extra room" to close the room whereas he may have needed to refer me if it hadn't been there. I was not to be "surprised if your nose is skinnier next time you see it"...
uhmm I didn't know I had a bump and I liked my nose. The final blow was when he told the nurse to schedule me in three days for a new bandage because my nose was "too oily to hold on a bandage all week." My poor nose... it probably thought I was having it put down.
Yesterday I went back to get my new bandage and I got demoted to a
bandaid.... which I prefer versus having the GIGANTIC cotton ball in my line of sight all the time. They told me to change it nightly and put Vaseline on it before applying a
bandaid..... I don't like to put petroleum products (long story, whole other blog) on myself, so I am putting vitamin E on it.
The Moment of Truth came last night when, for the first time, I changed my
bandaid and got to see my nose. I was looking at it head on in the mirror. Ugh. Swelling. No infection- that's good. I can see that my nose is skinnier. Still dealing with it when my hubby comes walking in. Looking at me from the side he made a sound. I can't really describe the sound. He swears that he did not make a sound, but I
definitely heard a sound.
So, I freaked out. I took the profile picture (below)... and now I feel like I look like a
Bejoran from Star Trek:
TNG. I say this to my husband who replies, "
Kyra was hot." He didn't understand why this was not the appropriate response. My sister hit the nail on the head, he apparently already realized I look like a
Bejoran, came to grips with it, and decided it was okay before I even knew I looked like a
Bejoran.
Anyway, we will have to see how this progresses.
Well, the surgi-strips fell off today- which was a momentus occasion as I finally got to wash my entire nose!!!!
Although, this picture was taken this evening after a long day in the kitchen, so you aren't seeing what I saw this morning. I let the hubby see the post mohs nose before I did. He actually didn't notice the surgistrips were missing until I pointed it out. There was no sound this time so I quickly went and looked at myself. I can see how my nose looks different, but you can be the judge of the before and after mohs surgery nose. As you can see from the profile the dent in my nose is leveling out.... so we will see. Overall, I am pleased with my nose and Mohs Surgery.
