Keratoacanthoma part 2

I finally got it removed and am stitched quite well.

Once I got in to see the Plastic Surgeon, he took one look and said "This has to come off now"   Yeah no kidding??   By then, the only way I can describe it is a medium sized mushroom cap, only disgusting looking. I kept it covered  so my skin was already red and raw from the adhesive for 3 months.

I did however get creative with ways to wear a bandage :)

Here is the end result of the surgery:

I had no idea a medium mushroom cap would create such a spectacle !  When I left after surgery I was taped from one shoulder to the other and half way up my neck !  Sure makes looking  to the side difficult, I still am unable to look up for eye drops or mouthwash. I dreaded removing the outer bandage the next day- but so wanted a shower ! He said the skin will eventually stretch to accommodate.

He also mentioned having to pull skin down from my neck and up from my chest to close the incision. I believe it , especially when I try to move. A few of the sutures were removed this week, but the anchor sutures have to wait another 2 more. It has made putting on a shirt a new experience, as well as a shirt has to button down the front so the scar isn't irritated. I honestly don't want others to have to see it, but oh well.

I'm dreaming of the day when I can again sleep on my side (the back side gets sore) and not itch !

Moral to the story: If you have a whitehead appear mysteriously overnight- GET it checked out !!

Keratoacanthoma

 What a long word to try an pronounce !
This is my latest diagnosis from the Dermatologist.  A few months ago I had a small "whitehead" appear on the left side of my chest.  Being just above where you'd place your hand to say the Pledge of Allegiance and very visible, I did what anyone would do. I popped it.  It bled, and bled, and bled.
So it was covered with a band-aid for another few weeks.  Yes, I did take it off and change it nightly.


While away for the Christmas holiday, as I was changing the bandage I looked in horror ! This small unnoticeable  whitehead (not to me) was now the size of a nickel and it looked infected. !  With my medical history and not healing well this past year I began to worry- plus it itches like hell . I kept it covered and out of the sun, and quickly made an appointment to see the Dermatologist when I got home.

 My worst fears were realized. It was not infected, and she proceeded to rattle off that name. She removed the top for biopsy and referred me to a Plastic Surgeon. Her reasoning being that if it isn't removed completely it will get larger and spread. Oh great ! Just what I always wanted on my chest ...
Plus with my system immuno -compromised it's best to err on the side of caution.

My appointment with her was 2 weeks ago and it is now the size of a quarter and distinctly raised above the skin. Now to you a nickel or quarter may not be large.  Put one on your chest and look in a mirror.  See what I mean?

From what I've read this normally doesn't affect the chest area, so I'm curious if all my x-rays over the years for my lung transplants may have increased the possibilities in me.

My first appointment with the Plastic Surgeon isn't until the middle of February, so I sit and wait and wonder how large it will be by then.. Oh, and how in the heck will it be removed.