Probable forehead flap in a week’s time, how to prepare?

Yay - all done!  Wish it had been easier for you though

Sorry, I’ve now googled and it was electrolysis my surgeon suggested not laser.  Hopefully you won’t need either though - I reckon you have paid enough! 

Thanks for the sympathy.  I was typing all my irritation out and feeling a bit self indulgent, so very grateful to you all for taking the time to read it.  It’s nice to hear that you feel that this was poor treatment, not just me being over sensitive and  unreasonable.  Of course you only get my side of it.  I can imagine Miseryguts going home and saying , “ I had the patient from hell today, I tried to chat with her and she bit my head off”!

 I suspect some of the problem with this private hospital is that they are currently overwhelmed with extra customers like me who have given up waiting for the NHS.  They have a big carpark, and except at 7 am it is always full, with cars outside the proper spaces and down the nearby streets.  Recently they have employed parking attendants trying to manage the situation.  To cope with the extra demand, they scrounge up extra medical staff, who may be on overtime or a second job after a full day with the NHS and so running low on enthusiasm, and the admin systems are overloaded.  Or it is just a badly run organisation, who knows?  There are some truly lovely people on the staff, the rooms and general decor are pleasant and the food is yummy.

Day 2 of final stage recovery and I look and feel physically even better than yesterday, and my mood is still euphoric.  If I didn’t have the record here of the day by day reality, I can see how I would soon be saying, yeah, forehead flap, no big deal.  

I think that may explain the consultant’s offhand manner.  He sees patients 9 months after it’s all over, they are happy with the result and have forgotten the details and say oh thank you so much Mr Brilliant Surgeon, and he thinks he is god and any impact on the patient from the procedure is trivial.  And most people don’t pay directly like I have, they see the same consultant in the NHS or they have been paying monthly for years into private health insurance, so their gratitude is unalloyed by any sense of entitlement.  I do feel the financial pain and it makes me resentful when I don’t get treated as a valued customer rather than as the lucky recipient of their expertise.  Yes I am grateful for their skill, but they could be a little bit aware that I am helping to provide their lovely lifestyle.  But as I have said, I could afford it and that makes me lucky.  My heart goes out to people who are waiting for ages for the NHS.  When I read in the paper that the strikes will mean cancellation of “routine” or “elective” surgery it makes me cross.  They mean things like bcc removal and knee and hip replacement.  There is nothing routine or elective about those, they should say “planned” or “scheduled” surgery.  And I bet when there are cancellations due to three days of strikes, it doesn’t mean everyone waits three extra days, it means those unlucky souls who had appointments on those days are suddenly shuffled down the queue to wait for more months.  That could have been me and my nose.

So, I am happy and grateful.  Oh, and another thing to be grateful for, I can now wear my reading glasses!  I was a bit wary because they go across my stitches, but it seems fine.  I had a health scare last year when a possible diagnosis, thankfully turned out not applicable, might have entailed blindness.  That concentrates the mind, believe me!   So, truly thankful for the gift of sight!

Thanks Lizch, yes hopefully my fair, definitely not grey, lol, hair will be invisible.  The nurse who took my stitches out suggested a special close trimming tool, so I will look into that if necessary.

This did make me smile. I've worked with a fair few consultants and including the one who did my surgery, Most of them are really lovely but they do have a God like air about them. I suppose it's because their patients are usually so grateful to them which is understandable of course. Of course as you know, you do get the grumpy ones.

I feel so sad for the NHS. I'm now retired and it's tragic what's happening to it. If I'd had Mohs I'd have had a ten month wait. As it was it was about five months. Still far too long but I know some have to wait much longer.

So glad you're feeling better

I have been following your diary of events and just wanted to say I so admire your stoicism.   I'm not sure I would have coped so well.  

Very well said Pucketyboo.  I think some of them are treated like God too when you see everyone pandering to their every whim whilst sitting in the waiting room, I have watched and observed many recently.  Luckily the ones I saw were really nice and the Plastic Surgeon just a dream so kind and compasionate.  Wished they were all like this. xx

So glad you are feeling better Luckylass.   I'm never going to complain about my simple BCC removals again.

Hi Happydaze2.  Thanks for your comment, and your earlier comment about my stoicism.  I’m definitely on the whiny side of stoic, but heck, I will take the compliment, thank you.  But if you want to grumble about BCCs, or anything else, you go right ahead!  Some people don’t get them, spending a lifetime in the sunshine without thinking twice, and never know how lucky they are.  And of course, there are people far less lucky than us on this site.  Just thank heavens for all of us that we have a forum to share our experiences.

Day 3 of stage 2 started reasonably ok and got steadily worse.  I think the afternoon and evening were as uncomfortable as the early days of stage 1, but perhaps I am forgetting how bad that was.  My whole face was tight and burning.  It may have been reaction to the ointment, which I was too anxious about infection to abandon.  I have stopped it now.  I had to give up on the reading glasses as they were  irritating.  My donor ear is also still sore.  I really thought that by now, four and a half weeks since it was operated on, it might have healed.  The sore parts are not at the donor site, which I think doesn’t have much of a nerve supply, but the general surroundings.  I did thankfully have a good night’s sleep thanks to meds and accumulation of sleep deficit.  
Day 4, this morning I inspected my face and decided that the source of discomfort was the orangey coloured crusting around all the wound sites.   I didn’t have much if any bleeding after the separation op, but I think the crust consists of oozing non-blood fluid plus ointment.   I had been told not to get the area wet and not to use Vaseline.  Nonetheless, as carefully as possible I dabbed the skin around the wounds with moist cloth to get the crust off and then dried and put on Vaseline.  That’s more comfortable.  I am doing very little, watching the clock count down minutes until it is time for another painkiller or a meal.  Not in pain, but uncomfortable, and the painkillers help.  Unfortunately I told the hospital pharmacist that I had painkillers left, but forgot that I was out of stool softener.  The Codeine has therefore presented a bit of a challenge but I have won that battle, for now anyway.

Hi Been wondering how today had been for you.  You really are so brave, don't think I could have coped with everything you have just taken in your stride.  I never realised these forehead flaps were so invovled.  I know my surgeon did them and I was offered it, but chose normal surgery.  Mine was in similar position to yours but more of it was on my face rather than nostril, although I did have that part cut.  I just wished I had taken picture of it before I had it treated, but never thought to do, plenty (well every day) after. Talk again soon xx