BCC on nose removed... advice please

Hello

I had a bcc removed from the side of my nose back in the summer.

The rather large wound was left to heal by secondary intention so no stitches were used and the wound was left open but with a dressing on which was regularly changed.

The surgeon said 6 weeks to heal and that's really what it took.

Try not to worry too much as I'm sure the nurses will keep a close eye on your wound and if it isn't healing as it should, they'll refer you back to the surgeon.

The skin has an amazing ability to heal but it does need time.

Hope this helps a bit 

Thank you so much for your reply. It truly does make me feel better to know this is normal and it will heal. 

How is your scar now? Do you have a hole still? 

I do have a scar which I think is quite noticeable but there's no hole and it's all healed up. I do think if I'd had flap surgery with stitches the scar would be less noticeable. 

It was my choice not to.

The skin heals in stages and has a process it goes through which takes time.

If you're really concerned are you able to speak to your surgeon?

Ok. Well, I've never heard of secondary intention healing. This is probably what's going on. It's not that quick to be able to see my surgeon but I'll ask the nurse tomorrow and see what they say. Thanks again

It's a good idea to have a chat with the nurse.

Secondary intention is when a wound is left to heal naturally without sutures.

It takes longer and I must admit it was a bit of a mess but it's healed up now.

I was not a good patient. I have a real nose phobia and this is why it was left to heal by itself.

I'm sure you will heal well and three weeks isn't long so it will need a bit more time, but for your own peace of mind discuss your concerns with the nurses and if possible the surgeon.

I know it's very worrying.

Let us know how you get on 

I will do, thank you. You are right, 3 weeks isn't long at all. I'm not a good patient either, I'm so anxious. 

Were you given prescribed cream/gel to put on?  My surgeon prescribed uriage bariederm cica-cream think it's like a silicone healing gel. One of the nurses said last week to not put anything on it yet. But i might chat to them tomorrow and mention it again. 

No he didn't prescribe anything to put on it whilst it was healing.

I know that a lot of people massage a healed wound with vaseline or scar cream.

Once it was healed I massaged it as it felt quite tight 

Ok. Maybe for the moment it's too open to use the cream. I'll check with nurse tomorrow. 

Right now, my skin around the hole is dry and itchy but think that's the dressing annoying it.

Something I've just thought about.

It may be worth asking if the surgeon deliberately left part if your wound open to heal by itself. Depending on the size sometimes they do 

That's a good question. I'll ask tomorrow and see if my doctor can check this with my surgeon. 

It's not easy because I'm not fluent in Portuguese and live rural, which means a lot of people don't speak English. Partly why this is stressing me out so much.