Indentation after wle and graft

I don't have any advice at the moment as I'm only three weeks after my WLE which was on my upper arm. Whilst the indent for me isn't as deep as what yours sounds like I do know the feeling of sobbing after seeing it. My arm after the WLE was covered for two weeks apart from me changing the dressing twice before the stitches came out last week. A couple of days afterwards last week I had a pretty bad day when the realisation that my arm was never going to look "normal" again sank in. I have a "dog ear" need to my elbow which pokes out quite a bit. I keep thinking about how I'm never going to be able to go on an night out in a strappy top again. 

I've told myself that its really early days yet and my body needs time to adjust etc and I think it was the shock of seeing it, where as with the original excision the indent wasn't as deep but also I saw it straight away after a couple of days of it being covered and I could see the improvement day by day. I've also realised that I'm looking at it from a different angle to what everyone else see's it from so I'am seeing the worst possible angle and I would imagine its similar to you looking down at it. I feel a bit better about it this week but im just taking it day by day. Sorry I cant give you any advice but I just wanted you to know that you weren't the only one feeling like that. Sending hugs x

Thank you for messaging. 
yes it has been a huge shock and today has been the hardest day I’ve had. It’s about 2cm deep I think but it’s the width that’s scaring me so much. Like a big gaping hole and I’m so scared. 
Good luck on your journey x

I can relate to this. I had a WLE with a skin graft on my shin just above my ankle. I never even thought to ask what it would look like before hand and I didn’t see it for the first time until the week 1 dressing change. Myself and my partner were shocked when they removed it all and saw it. It was about 2.5 inches jn diameter and looked to be really really deep. As you said, I could only describe it as a gaping hole with a very thin graft laid inside and was red raw. Looked like someone had bitten a chunk out of my leg. However to give you some confidence, I’m now just over a year since it was done and at this point, it’s filled out and is almost level with the original skin level. The redness has almost entirely faded and its close to the colour of the surrounding skin. It’s still somewhat noticeable, based on the circular scar, but it’s nothing like what I first saw and im honestly amazed how well it’s healed, all things considered. I still feel like it’s improving even now. So im sure yours too will get a lot better with time too

You have put some faith in me. Thanks so much for replying. I have sobbed since seeing this and I keep thinking how is that ever going to be normal or at least a little bit normal. I feel like I could half a tennis ball inside it. I think it’s about 2cm deep and is like a big gaping hole in my leg. I’m so so sad. I hope you’re well on your journey x

Yes, id be lying if I said I didn't understand. I remember thinking the same way the first time I saw it. When I read about what margins were needed, I totally expected it to be way smaller than it was and I think what shocked me more was just how big it was, particularly in diameter, but also in depth. Reading your post actually reminded me of something. At my 3rd dressing change appt, I remember mentioning how bad it looked, and also mentioning to the nurse that I didnt feel like it was getting any better week to week. She was great and talked me through what to expect at each stage of healing and she suggested I take a photo while she had the bandages off, so that I could compare and see the improvement week to week. The pictures were pretty grim, and admittedly I wasnt very organised with this so i only took a couple that day and a couple about 3 weeks later, but I just had a quick look at them again now. The first was at 3 weeks so didnt capture the worst of it on week 1, the second was at about 6 weeks and the difference just in those 3 weeks was huge, though Im not sure I recognised that at the time. I actually wish I had been more organised and taken some more along the way. Anyway definitely have faith - you may well find that the more significant improvements happen much faster than you think they will, and dont be put off by the first several dressing changes like I was.