Bleeding after BCC removal.

Hi CEJM.        I had a bcc removed from my nose just over two years ago which was left to heal by secondary intention.....   my experience was that although the wound had a dressing on it that controlled bleeding it did leak..   it was much paler than Frank blood...   it dried up after about a week......     I think it's part of the bodies natural healing process....   obviously if you're worried it's always best to contact your consultant and let him know if it's bleeding...

Hi Puckettyboo. Thank you soo much for the reply. From a quick google search I think that it may be Serosanguineous fluid, which is normal. However, I wanted to check with somebody who had the same (similar) operation. 

As yours was also left to heal by secondary intention, would you be able to tell me how long it took to heal? With heal, I mean a point in time at which you could touch the area without it being painful?

For work I wear an oxygen mask which rubs on the nose exactly where my wound is. I would like to give my employer a rough idea of how long I need to be off work.

Many thanks. I am very grateful that you are willing to share your experience.

Colin

My wound didn't hurt at all, but I can see how having a mask rubbing on it would cause pain....   I was told that I'd have to keep it covered and have regular dressing changes for six weeks, but it was healed up in five weeks...   the bcc was 6mm. The surgeon took  a 5mm margin so quite a substantial open wound...  I think I'd ask your surgeon about length of time off work as you don't want to irritate an open wound... once mine had healed I was told to massage it with vaseline..  

Thank you, once again.

Very useful information. I asked my surgeon but he gave a rather vague answer. He told me that I should be able to go back to work whenever the stitched on dressing comes off, in two weeks.

However, I am most likely back in hospital tomorrow. It appears that the stitches on one side of my dressing have ripped through the skin. I.e. the dressing is loose now and I can see into the wound. Will have to call them in the morning and see what they say.

Surprisingly the surgeon just told me not to bother coming in. He isn’t worried about the loose stitches as it is left to heal by secondary intention.

Discussed the fluid leak with him as well and he said that this is also normal. Even though the leakage smells rather unpleasant. The fact that the wound is not painful, swollen and that I have no fever means that it is not infected.

Hi ....  I really do think that as patients we should be warned about these things that may happen after the surgery...  it would stop a lot of worry.....   you should find that in two weeks your wound will be on its way to healing but it is a process that takes time....  and I wouldn't rush back to work if I felt that the wound could be damaged... I had to go back fortnightly for checks and dressing changes...   they  also gave me dressings so that I could use at home 

I agree. The information provided is woefully inadequate. 

I had to chase up my biopsy results, which I only got after 11 weeks. Should have been 6-8. When I got my results the dermatologist said that my cancer would be removed by the Mohs procedure followed by a skin graft. You can imagine my surprise when I learned on the morning of the operation that it was an excision with a graft. When I saw the surgeon, he had a look and then decided on excision with secondary intention.

The surgeon apologised as ideally I would have had a consult before the operation. But they are overrun with cases and just don’t have the time. Which is not their fault and they couldn’t have been more helpful on the day.

I have to say that I was given the choice of mohs or excision and both procedures were fully explained and I was given a week to make a decision. The surgeon then called me at home.... I got the results within two weeks. Your right though, they're snowed under...  if I'd have had mohs it would have been a ten month wait...  a head and neck surgeon did my surgery..... I'm in South east kent but I think its the same all over

You were given better options. 

The surgeon did explain that I could say no to the planned surgery if I wanted a Mohs procedure carried out. Similar as in your case, he did warn me that there was a long waiting list. There was no pressure from the surgeon but I didn’t want to waste his time either. 

He did say that if the scar was not to my liking then it could be rectified at a later date. Personally, I am not too fussed about the scar and I am sure that all will be fine. 

I just wished that I was told in advance. Just from a research point of view. In the end, as long as everything is removed than I am happy.

Same here really. I'm just glad the bcc has been removed although I was warned that I'd probably get more...    my scar is not as neat as it would have been had I had reconstruction but it's not too bad...  it really doesn't bother me too much..