I did put together my race report for the marathon, over on my fitness blog. That posting is here, you should know that there are references to bowel movements, and public urination, but as I have come to find out, that is all part of living an active lifestyle!
So yesterday I went to the facial surgeon to see about getting a lump removed from my head. If you're curious, here is my head
. About half way up on the side is a small scar. I got knocked over when I was 12 and ended up hitting a rock (It explains a lot). The wound got all infected, and I initially thought that perhaps a small stone had somehow been left inside. The lump itself is closer to the top of my head. I first found it about 8 years ago. It took me 5 or 6 years to ask my doctor about it, and then another 2 or 3 to actually get around to having it removed.I was given the option of being put out entirely for the procedure, along with that option also came a charge of $380, instead of $25 for a local anesthetic. How bad could it be?
The wait was long, but I finally got called back and given a seat. Then the doc came in to shoot up my head. I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. It felt like the guy pierced my skin, and then stuck the thing in another 2 or 3 inches. The nurse remarked that she had never seen anyone smile while getting a shot in the head. By #2 I wasn't smiling, and by #3 and #4, I was pretty close to wanting to cry. Still it was only 10 sec's of discomfort, and it's not like being put out is totally without discomfort either.
15 minutes later I was pretty numbed up and they started 'the procedure'. It's called a subcutaneous cyst. Basically the oil gland to one of my hairs got blocked way back when and so it could secrete any oil, of course being a dumb oil gland it doesn't realize this and just keeps producing more. I think it reached a point a while back where it just couldn't secrete any more, so it just sat there being annoying.
I think the surgeon just made an incision and then fished around a little to get it out. At one point I looked up and saw it and was a little surprised at it's size. Then he cleaned the whole out and sutured it up.
Once all was said and done, I got some prescriptions, a dab of Neosporon on it, and off I went, but not before taking a picture of my lump - prior to it being sent to the lab. For the squeamish reader, I apologize.
It looks a little bigger that it was just because of the angle it's being held at, but it's a about the size, shape and color of a really big butter bean - I can't vouch for it's taste however.
I was offered a prescription for Lortab, but I declined. I'm not a fan of how it makes me feel, and I can just as easily take a couple of ibuprofen. Perhaps that is why I'm not so stiff from my little running adventure this weekend.
So now my head looks like this
. The gooey stuff is the neosporon. It doesn't hurt much, and if you feel around, there is a slight dent in the skin. It's going to look good once I get the sutures out.
erk, we had something similar taken out of one of our cats a few years back. Are you going ot keep it?
ReplyDeleteMany have asked the same question... Based on the response from people within my circle of work friends and family, I suspect keeping it may not be the best move.
ReplyDeleteApparently it's been grossing out my wife since she found out about it - had she shared me with this 6 years ago, perhaps I may not have waited as long to get it removed.
Oh man!
ReplyDeleteOh man!
hey my friend has the same cyst on his head he was told by his doctor to find a surgeon that would remove it..what is this procedure called?? please help... hes had it for ten years he also bumped his head!!!
ReplyDeleteI forget exactly what the procedure was called. Basically it was just removal of a sub-cutaneous cyst. In my case it actually had nothing to with my fall, it was just a blocked oil gland that kept producing oil.
ReplyDeleteMy procedure was done by a facial / oral surgeon, and it was sent off to the lab to make sure it wasn't cancerous.
If your friend lives in Northern Utah, I'd recommend the guy I saw. He actually stitched together my son's lip after he played superman onto the coffee table and missed - not sure if I mentioned that in the original story.
This might be a double post. If so, sorry.
ReplyDeleteI think that I might have the same thing. I have a vague memory of what might have happened. Mine feels fluidy inside.
My dad did take me to see the Doctors; however, they had no idea what it was and advised not to do anything with it since it's on the head which can be dangerous to mess with and since it wasn't causing me harm.
So, I had it when I was around 5, it grew for 10 years, maintained the same size for another 10 years, but in the past few years, it started to shrink.
Now, it's pretty small. I think that it's shrinking as I type since I can feel the pressure at the center of my head where the lump is. That's the reason why I started googling for "lump on head" and found your entry.
Not knowning what it is sucks! So, I appreciate your post which gives an idea of what it might be. Which kind of make sense since I produce a lot of oil in my teenage years.
thanks for posting this up!
Roy
My pleasure Roy, glad to help ease your mind.
ReplyDeleteI get the impression these type of cysts are really common. Typically I'll get 5-10 people linking to these images a day. It's my most popular post of all time.
I only found this out after I had it removed, but my wife thought the whole thing was kind icky, I on the other hand had a great time squishing it and whatnot while I worked and commuted!