BCC on side of nostril

Hi Andrea1 

I've not had a BCC removed from the side of my nose but I noticed that your post hasn't had any replies yet. Responding to you will bump it back to the top of the discussion list again.

I know there are lots of people in the group who have posted about having a BCC removed from their nose so hopefully they'll pop on soon to share their experiences with you.

Wishing you all the best 

Hi Andrea1 

Not exactly the same but I had my 9mm BCC removed from the ala part of the face, which is immediately next to the nostril, using the MOHS micrographic surgery technique. Do you know if this is the process they will be using for your surgery?

The repair was done using a V-Y advancement flap using tissue from immediately below the excision site and took 20 stitches to secure. It was then covered by a dressing, which was in place for 48 hours. I worked from home at the time but took the three days following the surgery off as recommended by my surgeon as the whole process plus healing can be pretty exhausting!

The stitches were removed after a week. I was completely amazed when I saw it for the first time without the stitches as it looked almost the same as it had prior to the surgery but without the lesion. Other people didn't notice the scar either.

What happens in your case will be individual to you, however what I would say is that I had all the concerns you're having now and was pleasantly surprised that it all went so much better than I ever thought it would.

Hope your surgery goes well when it comes and if you have any questions, fire away! x

Hi, thanks so much for the information. I’ve been told it will be an excision and graft taken from either the back of my ear or neck  

The MOHS technique was not mentioned and I’d never heard of it before until I started reading about it on this site. It’s reassuring to know you healed quickly and successfully even with 20 stitches.   I’m just waiting for a date for removal as the lesion just keeps cracking and bleeding. I’m wondering if the shape of my nostril will change as surely they will be an indent there.

Were you told how to look after it after surgery and what you shouldn’t be doing ? 
Many thanks again 

My surgeon just told me to moisturise it for 18 months but nothing other than that. I didn't really manage to keep up the moisturising for long to be honest but my dermatologist told me that because of the positioning of mine (it involved the nose, cheek and upper lip), it would get a lot of natural physio anyway.