Mohs surgery on nose - sharing my experience

Just thought I'd share my experience of mohs surgery on my nose in case it might be helpful to someone else who might be having the same coming up. 

I had my mohs surgery 5 days ago as day surgery in hospital to remove a basal cell carcinoma on the right side of my nose affecting the ala and nostril. The ulcer was about 1cm by 1cm. The surgeon and nursing team were great at putting me at ease and couldn't have been nicer. 

I was asked to take my top half clothing off and put a gown on but was able to keep my bottom half clothing on. I lay on a couch and the surgeon then drew on my nose for the area he wanted to remove and took a photo. Then I had about 5 or 6 local anaesthetic injections in my nose which was quite painful. The nurse gave me two stress balls to squeeze to take my mind off the pain. The surgeon was really careful to do the injections slowly and as gently as possible. After that my nose was numb quite quickly. Then the surgeon began to cut out the cancer. I could feel something was being done and could sense that there was cutting but couldn't feel any pain. The nurses and surgeon chatted away to try and take my mind off it all. It wasn't something I'd want to do again in a hurry but it wasn't as bad as I thought. 

Once the lesion was removed another photo was taken, measurements taken and then the wound was dressed. The wound was 1.9cm by 2 cm and a full thickness defect. Then I was asked to put my dressing gown on and was taken to the recovery room to sit on a comfy reclining chair while waiting to hear whether the cancer had been removed. I was told to keep my head up to try to avoid it bleeding. I was given lunch (sandwich, yoghurt, fruit, biscuits, juice) while I was waiting but I think the chewing action made the wound bleed quite a bit but it stopped after a couple of minutes although it made a bit of a mess!

After about 2 and a half hours I was called in to be given the results. The cancer was removed in the first go which was a massive relief. The wound was left open because I'm due to have a paramedian forehead flap to repair it so the dressing was tidied up a bit after the bleeding and then I was allowed to put my clothes back on and was given a sheet of aftercare information and spare gauze and steri strips.

In total I was in the hospital about 4 and a half hours. Most of that time was waiting around, either in the waiting room before the appointment or after the surgery to wait for the outcome. 

I had a bit more bleeding again in the evening but again this stopped after a few minutes. The dressing was quite bulky which made it difficult to eat and drink but I found ways round this like drinking through a straw. I've slept a bit more propped up than usual and have had no bleeding overnight. After 2 days I've had no more bleeding although I can feel some oozing. After 3 days I had a dressing change. No sign of infection and I was given a smaller dressing which has made things a bit easier. I've not seen the wound as it's been covered the whole time but as I'm a bit squeamish I'm quite glad about that! 

I've got my paramedian forehead flap surgery in 2 days under general anaesthetic. Hopefully that goes smoothly too. Not looking forward to getting up at 4am for the early start at the hospital which is in the next county!