Anyone else ever have this kind of surgery?

[Monkeyleg]

A recent CT scan for an unrelated problem showed a mass of something in my head (no jokes, please). The doctor said that's why my left eye protrudes slightly more than the right, since this mass is pressing on the eye socket.

I showed the doctor a driver's license photo from 1990 with the left eye protruding a bit, so obviously this mass has been in there for a long time.

It has to come out,  and the doctor briefly explained how they're going to do it (he'll go into more detail next week).

They'll either cut above my upper lip and pull the skin up above my nose to get in, or make an incision in the scalp and pull the skin all the way down to gain access.

My neighbor has had this done several times. He looks OK, but I didn't see him before they started doing this to him.

So...has anyone else had this done? Does it affect your appearance (bruised skin, disfigured nose, etc)? Does it keep you out of commission for a long time?  If they cut the scalp, do they have to shave the head?

Those may sound like trivial questions, but I just started a new job, one where I deal face to face with clients I've known for years. I have confidence in the doctors, I'm not afraid of the surgery, but I am afraid of looking like a monster at work.

Any replies much appreciated.

[Sindawe]

I had "similar" surgery in Aug 2002.  In my case the cut was made to seperate the upper lip from the upper jaw so the surgeon could get access to the bone to cut off and split the upper jaw (widening the upper jaw was the aim).  Not exactly the same, but same area of the body, and involved cutting/stitching the tissue.  I had some pretty good swelling about 2-4 days post-op, but no major impact on mobility or endurance.  I also had some minor bruising, but not bad.  I had no discomfort about going out in public the Monday after surgery (which was on a Friday) to pick up a new aqarium and attended gadgets to go with it.

[K Frame]

You're bound to have some swelling and bruising. That's just normal for having any type of surgery done.

I'd have to think, though, that even if they do the lip option it's not going to be a lot worse than really invasive dental surgery like having some teeth pulled or upper palate gum work.

The best thing, though? You'll have some good drugs...

[onions!]

A very good friend of mine had his face caved in by a log while he was waterskiing through some lilly pads some years ago.His surgery was considerably more involved(steel plate on top,both cheekbones are wire mesh,lots of little pins & plates,& etc.)than yours is likely to be but there is one potential similarity.His main incision was from behind each ear & over the top.They shaved him bald.His "face" was a puffy,distorted mess for a few months(like I said though,he had LOTS done)The overhead/face peel incision healed very quickly & you have to look very hard to find any scar.

[Antibubba]

A mass?  That's just a convenient excuse.  You know they're going to implant a chip while you're under, right?

:paranoia:

[Monkeyleg]

Good news!

My health provider has been playing Musical Doctors with me. The one I saw today is a specialist on sinuses and sinus growths.

He took one look at my MRI and CT films and said I didn't need surgery at all. He said that, if I wanted, he would do a biopsy in an operating room with me fully under, but didn't think it was necessary. Said this growth (fibroidburritowithextrasalsa, or whatever) had been there for at least fifteen years.

He suggested that I come back in six months, and they'd do another CT scan to see if there was any change.

So, no "Hannibal Lecter" for me, at least for now.

But that leaves me with a big question: why was the first doctor so hot to peel my face off, drill a hole in my head, and generally make me miserable and broke for months? He told me he didn't think the fiberousburrito was cancerous. He said he thought it had been there for decades. He said everything the doc today said.

Yet he wanted to skin me.

What the....?

[RevDisk]

But that leaves me with a big question: why was the first doctor so hot to peel my face off, drill a hole in my head, and generally make me miserable and broke for months? He told me he didn't think the fiberousburrito was cancerous. He said he thought it had been there for decades. He said everything the doc today said.

Yet he wanted to skin me.

What the....?

It's like two gunnies arguing 9mm vs .45, neither is technically wrong.  They just have different perspectives.  (The 9mm guy is the one that wanted to peel off your face, never trust a 9mm fan.)

[Harold Tuttle]

when the tool you have is a hammer,
everything you see looks like a nail

[onions!]

But that leaves me with a big question: why was the first doctor so hot to peel my face off, drill a hole in my head, and generally make me miserable and broke for months?

Maybe his business is kinda slow.ie.He needs some $$$:(

[cfabe]

Good news!


But that leaves me with a big question: why was the first doctor so hot to peel my face off, drill a hole in my head, and generally make me miserable and broke for months? He told me he didn't think the fiberousburrito was cancerous. He said he thought it had been there for decades. He said everything the doc today said.

Yet he wanted to skin me.

What the....?

My dad had a similar experience. A few months after he quit smoking for good (after trying for nearly a decade), he had a routine chest xray and discovered a mass in one lung. Consulted with a oncologist who did an mri and a biopsy, both came back inconclusive, so he scheduled him for a lung resection surgery anyway given his history. This is a major invasive and reportedly extremely painful surgery where they take out part of you lung through the side of your ribcage.

A few days before surgery he got a second opinion from another doc who advised him to monitor it and see if the mass got any larger over the next few months. It ended up actually getting smaller and nearly disappearing after a year. The docs didn't have a good explanation other than it could have been the remains of a pneumonia infection showing up or something.

Why are they so eager to cut? I'm not sure. Could be a proactive doctor... or he could just have a vacation house payment coming up. Who knows, but always get more than one opinion.

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks for the replies. I was talking with my neighbor, who's had this surgery several times already, and he said to do anything to avoid it. Said it was excrutiatingly painful, and he was off of work for two or three months each time.

In the future, I'm going to only go to doc's who aren't "practicing" medicine.