WLE and SLN Biopsy

My WLE was on my shin, not my thigh but my slnb was on my inner thigh groin and I had a skin graft taken from my outer thigh. It’s going to depend a lot where on your thigh it is I guess. I can imagine it would be quite difficult if it’s on or near a joint or a piece of skin that moves a lot. Less so if it’s mid thigh. I’ve been able to get around inc up and down stairs mostly fine (though very carefully in the first couple of days).

in terms of recovery generally, I just had my 2 week check and they asked me to rest and elevate it as much as I can for another week. The skin graft donor location is still pretty raw and weepy, the slnb cut is fine and I don’t really notice it much unless I touch the wound though I have had a few days of tightness in odd places/swelling in my leg where the lymph node was removed from. The WLE itself was in all honesty quite a shock to see and they said it will probably take 10 to 12 weeks to heal. Not sure what I was expecting but mine is a 2 to 2.5 inch diameter circular hole/crater that’s pretty deep (id guess at 1 to 1.5 cm). It’s still very raw at the 2 week mark and the graft is still vulnerable in places they tell me. It’s not stopping me from moving around currently but im pretty wary of unexpected knocks or bumps. With more skin on the thigh maybe you won’t need a graft to close the wound but I’m sure your surgeon will let you know. Interestingly the skin graft donor location has been the most uncomfortable of the three wounds. 

Thanks - it’s about 5cm above my right knee, the current scar had 5 stitches and is on a diagonal but they are going to try and do a vertical cut this time to speed up recovery time as well as take the biopsy. I’d imagine the shin would take longer as much as less skin to heal - hope you make a speedy recovery ️‍ I’ll be at home on my own as hubby will be working and leaves early, luckily my Dad can do the school runs - Im sure I’ll be alright being mobile and I’ve told my Dad I’ll call him if I need a cuppa and I can’t manage on my own haha. He only lives 5 mins away xx

Hello Midnight22, I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I also had a melanoma on my thigh which was removed and I had a WLE and SNLB on Wednesday. The SNLB is almost unnoticeable unless I touch it, the WLE is much longer than the narrow excision (dressing is approx 6 inches) and very tender. A skin flap was used rather than a graft. In terms of mobility I can weight bear and can go up and down stairs one at a time but otherwise I try not to move too much and keep my leg elevated. Dressing will be changed this Wednesday so will find out how it’s healing then. I would also say that neither have caused me enough pain or discomfort to require paracetamol even on the first day after and I don’t consider that I have a high pain tolerance. Hope this helps.

Ahh this is great to hear, hoping I’ll get my appointment soon. Once I have a date to work towards I’ll feel a lot more settled. The initial mole was removed on September 1st. That caused a little discomfort because it’s so close to my knee so bending was an issue etc and the fear of knocking it…plus I went back to work the next day as a reception class teacher. I know this operation will be bigger but wasn’t sure how much bigger. I have a pt2a but they were happy they have removed all of the mole with the first excision. Hope it’s healing well. Keep me posted and thanks for replying x

Hey how are you recovering? Well I hope? 

Did you have the stitches removed yet?