If anyone has had a punch biopsy (on the nose)...

[TheVanguardSix]

Could you hold my hand and tell me about the worst bits?

I have what could be a BCC on the side of my nose- just on the outer nostril and in April, I've been booked in to have a punch biopsy, which DH- a GP- has said is just so unnecessary. He feels the dermatologist is being melodramatic, whereas I feel she looks at skin all day long and knows that this must be the logical next step. She wouldn't just book me in for a punch biopsy for fun.

Anyway, with regards to pain and scarring, how was it for anyone who's been through this?

Hi op

Really straightforward. No worse than a filling (in terms of injection of local anaesthetic) and takes seconds.
It’s done before you know it.
No pain afterwards, either.
Think I must have had a stitch to close it. Who knows?!

@TheVanguardSix
PLEASE don't get a punch biopsy on your nose if there is another way to check the skin! I was in the dr. Office and mentioned that I had a spot on my nose that I was concerned about. The dr took out the punch (3 mm) and proceeded to make a huge hole in the tip of my nose...didn't even put a stitch in it...so now I have a rather large hole still in my nose 5 years on! I think there is something called a mohs procedure that can be done taking a tiny bit of skin, looking at it under a microscope, deciding if it is cancer and the proceed accordingly. I'll try to dig up a photo....

Oh, It didn't hurt at all and the scar probably isnt noticeable to people, but I see it every time I look in the mirror

I had MOHs procedure after the punch biopsy. The pb was for diagnosis, the MOHs to then remove the BCC in one go and with the least amount of healthy tissue taken with it.

@TheVanguardSix
Not sure dr wasn't doing it for fun...skin came back normal...thank goodness though

Here's my nose @TheVanguardSix

Sissymate, it should not look like that after 5 years!

My DH had both a 3mm and 6mm punch biopsy done and two weeks later you would not have known that it had been done. Unfortunately, the biopsy came back as Basel cell carcinoma so he had to have more done. They stretched the skin over his nose to cover the excision area and now (3 months later) if you look closely, you might see a slight line on his nose but realistically, you really have took first.

The biopsy is better than the alternative. Good luck!

@LangSpartacusCleg
I'm sorry I frightened you with my photo🤣. The photo was taken the day of the punch, not recently!
Glad your DH got fixed up.

@Sissymate2 I am so relieved to hear that!

I nearly suggested medical malpractice in my previous post but decided to delete it as it wasn’t very helpful after so long.

I should probably also mention that DH was treated in Australia which is the best place to be with skin cancer. There is a huge amount of R&D on skin cancer and doctors have a lot more experience of dealing with it than in the UK.

Thank goodness!

@Sissymate2 - I actually got the impression from your post that your experience was not NHS either. Are you in the US?

@LangSpartacusCleg
Yes, and the dr was a Kaiser Permanente dr. She also called me to invite me to a quick - money making workshop that she was having at her home in the evenings..Very unprofessional to say the least. I should have reported her.

@LangSpartacusCleg
And the health insurance personally cost me $700/month plus a $50 co-pay!

@TheVanguardSix @LangSpartacusCleg
Here is what it looks like today...five years later....probably not to noticeable to others, but I definitely see it when I look in the mirror 🤪

Forgot the photo last time

Never mind that second photo...its the same one..I didn't think it posted the first time

Have you already seen the dermatologist? I had the option of a punch biopsy (in a similar place to @Sissymate2) or to have a go with 5FU cream only a few weeks ago. The dermatologist recommended the cream plus follow up to begin with on the basis that she couldn’t guarantee not getting a scar and it will probably give her some ideas about whether biopsy will be necessary later or whether it has been cleared. So far my nose is very red and crusty and weepy but hasn’t been painful. I have a few days of treatment left and then healing will begin. Did nobody discuss the cream with you?

To be honest, if the NHS derm had identified BCC from observation (mine was a bit of a ‘maybe but not sure, probably not scenario) I think I would have just gone privately to someone with Mohs expertise

Oh my goodness! I checked in and found no replies, opened this up today to find you all here! THANK YOU so, so, so much. You have no idea how grateful I am! Sissy Kaiser Permanente... I am incredibly familiar with Kaiser, having been born in a Kaiser hospital in the early 70s and raised on their healthcare system. This is by no means a criticism of your own experience, but I've been there with the 'We've done a procedure, can we interest you in spending more of your money on stuff that has nothing to do with your actual procedure?'
Anyway, I feel so relieved and grateful to you all!
Maybe I should go with a mohs? I didn't even know this was an option. I'll post a pic of what I have on my nose.

I grew up in the 70s/80s/up until the 90s underneath those cloudless skies of Southern California, never wearing SPF. It's funny how my later years of religiously wearing SPF in my adopted rainy climate may not have been enough to bat away my past habits.

I'll have to wait until I get my phone (which I left at my friend's house yesterday). DH's camera isn't very good. So I'll snap a photo and post it later on today.
I am totally grateful to you all!

I was once offered a biopsy but I then said I'd rather have it out than going through two procedures - and they cut it out in one go.

@TheVanguardSix
That punch biopsy was the only bad thing that ever happened with Kaiser...all other treatment with them was first rate! Excellent healthcare. They'd always give me a reminder call if I'd "forgotten " to make a followup appointment for a mammogram or a colonoscopy, etc. First class equipment and very attentive staff! The Dr who did the punch was definitely a one off! She left Kaiser shortly thereafter, thank goodness!
@Vanguard I hope all goes well with whichever procedure you have done. Medical science these days is amazing. My father had many basal cell spots. Since his dr was also a plastic surgeon after the healing you could not even see were the mohs had been done...and I'm talking about a 4 inch incision over his right eyebrow, an almost 3 inch incision on the side of his nose and another 3 inch on the left side of his face...it was almost like he was getting a bit of a face lift with each procedure

@LangSpartacusCleg

Sissymate, it should not look like that after 5 years!

My DH had both a 3mm and 6mm punch biopsy done and two weeks later you would not have known that it had been done. Unfortunately, the biopsy came back as Basel cell carcinoma so he had to have more done. They stretched the skin over his nose to cover the excision area and now (3 months later) if you look closely, you might see a slight line on his nose but realistically, you really have took first.

The biopsy is better than the alternative. Good luck!

Hello, sorry to randomly comment - I hope you don't mind! I am booked in to have a punch biopsy, a 3mm one which sounds like the same thing you DH had. I wondered if you could tell me if stitches were used and how long it took to heal? Many thanks in advance!