Wide local excision

Hi,  I had a WLE on my left thigh at the end of  December.  I also had a WLE of a melanoma on my right arm and a SLNB,  on the same arm.  The lesion on my leg was a dysplastic naevus, so the excision was millimetres rather than centimetres, as it was on my arm.  Two months on, and the arm is healing nicely. 

The advice I would give you for the leg, is to ask lots of questions about post surgery care. The skin just above your knee has to stretch quite a lot in everyday life.  What happened to me was that thr stitches gave way 16 days after surgery, and I was doing nothing more dramatic than putting my socks on!  Initially, at the local minor injuries unit, the nurse put Steri-Strips back on it to try and hold it together again. Since then, I’ve been under the care of District Nurses, whose philosophy has always been to leave it open, cover it with dressings and let it heal naturally from the bottom up.  I would say that it is only just now beginning to show any real signs of healing.  
 
I’m not suggesting for a minute but you will have the same experience, but how I known then what I know now, I would have  asked a lot more questions.  You may well have several layers of stitches, as I did on my arm.   Will the stitches be dissolvable or removable? My  leg excision only seemed to have one set of dissolvable stitches.  If you go to a post-operative dressings clinic, you could ask the nurse for advice as well.  You need to keep moving  to encourage the blood flow, which helps healing, but paradoxically that makes the wound more likely to stretch.  If your WLE is further up the leg, it’s probably under less pressure.  Mine is pretty close to the knee.

I really hope that the surgery goes well on the 12th and that you heal quickly.

Thanks for replying. Wow, sounds like you have had a tough time. Really appreciate the advice, will definitely ask lots of questions now. No one has said if it will be disposable stitches or not. Really hope your scar heals quickly now. 

Thank you.  Now it’s finally on the mend, I’ve regained my confidence and have even started going back to Pilates.  My teacher has been great in giving me modifications.  Initially, I was scared to even bend the leg!   

The main thing is that the results were all clear, and that has helped to put things into perspective.  

Wishing you all the best for next week..

Hi, thought I’d let you know how my WLE went last Wednesday. The op lasted an hour and the surgeons were really nice and if I felt any pain at any stage they gave me more local anaesthetic. I was quite sore for a couple of days and found it difficult to sleep as I couldn’t turn over as my WLE was on my shoulder. Also my neck and shoulder felt ‘tight and achey’ due to the stitches but the surgeon said to expect that and that my skin will stretch over time. The pain is subsiding now and my daughter who is a nurse is going to look at the wound and re dress it for me. I was told to go to my GP for a check to see how the wound was healing after a week then at 2 weeks get the stitches out at my GP.

I’ve also received a letter from Christies today for a telephone appointment in April but it also mentioned that if required they will call me in person after the biopsy has been looked at and if necessary will contact me to be seen face to face. I was quite anxious about the WLE but it wasn’t too bad! Hopefully everything will be ok for you! 

Thank you for letting me know your experience of the WLE. I hope it starts to heal quickly for you and you are able to sleep better. Hoping you get clear margins following the biopsy. Take care