Mole excision on face. Help!

[diamondsonthesolesofhershoes]

Next week i'm due to have a large mole on
My hairline removed die to worries over melanoma. I'm not entirely sure which procedure i will be having, have been given info sheets on 'shave excision' and a more invasive cut in an eye shape (hope that makes sense!).

I'm unsure what to do about work. My op is in the afternoon, and I'm due in work early the next morning. I have to wear a hat at work (the glamour) and it sits directly where my wound will be. Overall I think I may need the day off, but cannot book it as holiday because it's already been booked by someone else.

Has anyone had this procedure or similar and have any idea on whether I should try to get the day off or whether it will be fine by then?

Oh, plus I am going to have a patch shaved on my head.. so there's kind of vanity reasons as well!

I had one removed from my chin and I felt ok the next day but bearing in mind where yours is I don't think it would be a good idea to irritate it with a hat or anything.

Thanks.
I'm just unsure how to go about it. If I can't book it off as holiday, really all I can do is call in sick. I can't call in sick a week in advance, and they will never agree to me taking it off because it will mean the department being closed.

Ok. I had this procedure in my shoulder, and then a wider excision when the melanoma was confirmed. For the first excision I was just referred to get the mole checked and the consultant was so worried he did the excision that same day. I was so shocked by the process that I called in sick (I'd had the morning off for the appt) and was then off sick the next day as well as it was very stiff and sore.
This is about your health. It needs to be done and you may not feel like working (not only the physical effects but I found the whole thing so stressful and worrying) and your work just have to get over it I'm afraid. Be strong, take whatever time you need and don't feel bad.
Take care :)

Thank you obviously, :)
I'm going to have to let them know in advance that I'm having the op, because if I call in on the morning and say I'm suffering after effects of an op I've not told them about
How would you handle it?

Do you have a special leave policy that might cover it? What do you normally do for doctors appointments?

I think if they need to arrange cover then it's best to tell them that you will be off sick the day after at least.

I only work weekends so I've not come up against this with this company before.
Yep I'm going to have to put my foot down I think, mentioned it to my supervisor yesterday and he suggested I had the op rearranged, so I'm going to deal with it with higher management. The next appointment they had was in July!

Having it rearrange won't fly i'm afraid because of the urgency. Since the appointment is in your own time there's nothing they can do about that. Just be upfront and tell them you will definitely need the day after off as sick, and perhaps the next day too.

Yes after my second excision of the same wound I took several days off. When the bad results came back I found it very stressful and needed occ health support, a stress risk assessment and reduced working hours for a while. It may be quite tough on you if your work aren't supportive :(

First off, I hope it comes back as benign

Secondly you can't have a shave biopsy as if it were melanoma, it would then totally bugger up the prognostic indicators - you need a proper depth, to work out what treatment you'll need, and how serious it is.

This isreally important so if anyone tries to shave it off you must stop them...some doctors don't know this basic stuff even now.

In terms of time off it is going to be necessary I think - often the cut has to take a slightly larger section than you might expect, and it will have stitches and look and feel very sore. The hat thing is going to have to be avoided.

Workwise and legally speaking I'm afraid I don't have much advice because I don#t know about these things, but you will need time off and they must allow it because you probably just won't feel up to being back at work straight away.

Sorry for the downer, I just thought it better to offer accurate advice, and I hope it goes alright and isn't too sore afterwards xx

Oh just seen the bit about having it delayed till July - No, don't.

If God forbid it is melanoma, your risk is higher due to its position - head and neck has a higher chance of spreading, and must be removed asap.

I really hope it isn't melanoma and that everything is back to normal for you really soon. Don't delay the op though. Even if it means your boss isn't happy, this is really important.

I had a suspect melanoma removed from my face and took the day of the procedure off and two days after that.
It did prove to be a melanoma and I had a wide excision done. I then took a week off and should have had longer in fact.
you must not have a shave procedure it must be excised and you cannot delay the procedure either.
This is not holiday it is sickness and your work must deal with it. There must be a contingency in the event of these things happening.

hello - just noticed this as i was postinbg on another post.

I just had to say hope it turns out ok. I had mole removed - about 12 years ago - which was close to my hairline. i had grown to love it but there were concerns about it as it had changed a bit - anyway it was all ok in the end.

I took a couple of days off - it just felt a bit delicate after having it done and I didnt feel up to going in - I told employer beforehands that I was having it done and that i would let them know on the day whether i was able to come in or not. That is all you need to do - your employer has the responsibility to make arrangements if you are off sick, so they should put a plan in place to cover your work if you are going to be off. My advice to you is to concentrate on your health and let your employer sort out the workplace.

Good luck with it - hope all ok - but don't delay as it is important to have it checked out. Kate

Thanks everyone, I've only just seen most of these messages. I was concerned about coming across to them as a drama queen but quite relieved to see I'm definitely not. I've told them today that I will definitely not be in over the weekend, and was firm when they tried to convince me otherwise.

Feel a lot better about the whole thing now I know I'll be able to recover at home.

The consultant I saw said that he was sure it wasn't malignant now, but was concerned about the changes in it, called in someone senior to him and he recommended having it off to be on the safe side. So would you still ask about the shave V wide excision?

The only way to know if its malignant is the histology part i.e what happens when they send it to the lab to be looked at. Therefore it should be excised and not shaved. I would check this and make sure you are fully aware of what is happening and how it is be done

PS don't want to frighten you but I was rather cavalier about my melanoma thinking it was nothing to worry about and as it turned out - it was something to worry about. You can't take chances with these things.

Ok, thanks for the advice, I will take it up with him before I let him near me!

To be honest, I'm waiting on blood test results for something else which is worrying me as well, so I'm trying not to let either play on my mind too much. I can be a bit of a panicker

Oh that sounds tough. Sorry you're going through all this.

The thing is as Careergirl says, even if it is nothing, they won't know that till it's off, so what they need to do to follow the proper protocol, is to excise a certain depth - and radius - around the mole, so that they can check how deep any dodgy cells might go into the skin.

If it's benign then no worries but if there is anything going on in there, they will then have a clear indication of what to do next, how likely it is to have spread and what precautions to take.

Melanoma won't spread until it is deep enough into the skin to get into your lymphatic or vascular system, which is only a few mm really, so it is important that they know how deep it has gone if it is one.

Hope that helps
Don't let them do a shave procedure and tell them you know the risk is higher due to its location and you will go elsewhere if they won't agree.

The wider excision is what you would have as a precaution if it turns out to be malignant. So don't worry about that yet - just get the first one dealt with first

Well done for standing your ground with work. Brilliant stuff.

diamonds - I hope it turns out to be benign

I had a mole on my face removed. As others said, it was excised because they all need to be excised, so that they can be sent off to biopsy and verified to be completely clear on all surfaces (i.e. all dodgy cells have been taken off). This can't be done with shaving, laser, or cold burn removal of moles.

The excision was "eye-shaped" as you say in your OP, so that the sides can then be stitched back together. It was covered for a few days but I disinfected it regularly. Stitches were taken out after almost a week. It wasn't terribly painful at any point during the healing process, and I could have worked the next day, fwiw.

Once the stitches are out and the wound is closed, you will have to apply 50+ sun cream there.

Any ideas on where I can ask before my op? I was thinking the choices line or my gp but neither have been much help.

I took a couple days off after mine but that was because it was on my chin and the stitches were black and I was a vain 19 year old!

I don't know what the choices line is....???

This is really a discussion you should have with the surgeon long before they get anywhere near you .

Is it possible that you can speak to someone in the department eg his secretary- and ask to speak to the person who is doing it? or for them to give you feedback?

The other point is- and I don't dispute your diagnosis- is that there are different types of growths on the face. My mum had what most people would call a "mole" on her temple near her hairline, but it was really a type of age spot. She had it shaved off at the GPs.

What I am saying is- have you got a very precise diagnosis, because there are obviously different procedures for different growths- and if yours is potentially malignant then they should only be offering one procedure.

I think until it has been excised there is nothing much they will tell you - or can tell you, because they don't know themselves.

My friend had a growth on her hairline which was treated as a fungal infection, and similar for nearly a year before it was finally biopsied and found to be malignant.

None of the doctors had known what it was. So don't take any chances if there is any sort of doubt.

What you should be asking before the op is basically, how they intend to remove it and with what sort of margin. If they say it'll be a shave procedure, insist that they excise it properly - either a punch biopsy (which takes a section out of it, quite deeply) or the whole thing taken off to a depth of whatever, but definitely not a shave biopsy.

Good luck x