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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Keloid saga


The story of my life lah. long winding and boring.


Scar tissues. you know how some ppl have BCG scars...its the same thing. it all started when i was eleven, got my first ear piercings and eventually the piercings closed up - with overproduced collagen (intentionally for repairing the skin wounds) - causing the 'lump'. it was on both the left and right ear lobe. cant remember when was the first treatment given - cant even remember which dr - but it was just some injection to see if the swelling would subside. right lobes did, went back to normal - happily pierced now - but the left lobe increased in swelling. i had the first surgery in 2004, to remove the keloid about the size of a small peanut. the dr was quite reluctant saying that the chances of the keloid growing back after this is 50-50. an absolute yes or no thing. i was studying in Labuan back then; had the surgery over a weekend then flew back to Labuan - so there was no proper follow up. 

2 months after the surgery i confidently went to pierce the left lobe. had on pretty earrings for a bit (thats the whole reason see, i just love earrings. i still do, in fact i envy those who wear them and dont understand why someone can actually wear the same earrings everyday. hello! u got perfect lobes you can afford to use 3,4,5 different earrings a day! ahh. be grateful. this taught me a lot about not taking any thing for granted - okay back to story). left lobe did hurt with the earrings - it was a little thicker in size - so one fine day i decided to not leave any earrings on for night and just by the next morning; the hole closed up! it was that fast! i struggled; forced an earring through - to no avail. then the lump begin to develop...up to the size of 2 peanuts. bigger than the first cut. 

so i decided to give it another try, had the second surgery in 2006. this time i didnt have a proper follow up treatment too - same scenario - a few days back from uni and after surgery went back to uni - just cleaned up the wounds on my own. obviously the keloid grew back again, much bigger - size of three peanuts. or half my pinky. its a lie if i said it didnt bother me, though i would have to say it didnt bother me as much as i thought it would. life goes on regardless. but i purposely kept my hair longer - and did pretty things to the hair so i could let it down more than i needed to tie it up - to hide the keloid; it helped in a way by keeping questions and stares away. no biggie, but u know, it feels better to keep some things low. 

i didnt foresee the third surgery coming so soon; its by God's grace. i happen to drop by our medical centre one fine day to check up on my eyes. after the doctor consulted my eye i just popped out the question while showing her the keloid "Dr what would you suggest i do to this keloid?" i think she's new; wait she must be new. she asked me if that keloid was the only one. i said yes, thats the only keloid. scars elsewhere didnt turn into keloid and in fact the right ear got better after the injection. she said hmm. i dont think its keloid then. have you ever sent the tissue sample for lab checks? no. she says i dont think its keloid. its prolly a lump. i was thinking okay...i may be her first 'keloid' case. she then referred me to the ENT surgeon that comes in to our medical ctr weekly. first look and he said this is definitely a keloid. we can schedule a surgery...on the 12th. 

i didnt say much, just hi doctor...and showed him my ears. and he immediately suggested surgery. hmm...must be that bad. anyway to cut an already long story just a tat shorter; i had the surgery yesterday in sunway medical ctr. goodness it was an exciting experience really. an expensive one infact. you see previous two surgery was so minor that i literally walked into the clinic and climbed onto a normal consultation bed and had the surgery done there and then. i could have done it sitting down actually...or while watching tv...please get the point how minor it was (and should be!) but this is not what i got here. the dr told me you have to admit yourself around 11 then you'll be my first surgical patient at 1pm. i was like, admit myself? its only my left earlobe...

oh well i did got myself admitted into the surgical day care...yeah not that glamorous anymore lol. still, i had to change into that green operating gown that needs to be tied at the back - still with a huge gap that exposed your entire back - literally sexy back - yes i actually did feel sexy in it - i couldn't figure the hundreds of strings hanging on it just simply tied a few knots to keep it on. and the nurses had to remind me three four times please remove EVERYTHING. i was thinking...but my surgery is on the left lobe, 100 metres from the rest of my body...still have to remove everything? i obliged la. fun u know, thinking like wow...so serious ar? after changing climbed onto the bed (bed 8 yoh!) and tried to feel sad, sick and lonely. didnt work...took out Airline Business to read...then a lady from the next bed came over. she was in her green sexy back gown too and she asked have to remove everything ah? i said yes...thats what the nurses said. then she said but the back all open how ah? can see oh? how ah? i just smiled and said i think its ok when we lie down cant see then she went back to her bed. (well i saw her after my surgery - she had a bandage on her eye. yeah, like a surgery 100 metres from her body too! see, totally unnecessary to remove everything! but whatever that is safe and clean for the procedures lah) i waited...got restless...grumpy cause i was starving - they made me fast for more than 12 hours - fell asleep. 

then they wheeled me into OT pretty late, about 3+. OT was a cool place, patients lining up to enter different OT rooms. doctors coming out from OT, sitting, frantically writing their notes and reports, then going back into the OT for the next surgery. from my bed, i thought wow. their life so fulfilling. such busy bees. so its my turn. transferred me onto the table. hah! this i did myself. easy peasy just drag my butt from the bed to the Optable lah. then the nurse went on to clip the heart rate thing on my index finger; blood pressure calf on my arms that reads every ten minutes; and the 3 piece heart monitor on my chest...all for a minor surgery on the left lobe. dont play play! then they covered me with a piece of sterilised sheet; dr cut a hole just large enough for my ear and then the surgery begin lah. with about 5 nurses around. all for a surgery on the left ear lobe! dr was nice...talked to me throughout...actually talked to my ears la cause thats all he could see but thats all he needed anyway to get msg across. it was a pleasant surgery really; no complains; taken cared of really well. i do think a lot of unneccessary procedures - thus so expensive! it was done after an hour; wheeled me back to surgical daycare; rested and left and immediately headed for starbucks - never tasted so good! such delight after the surgery :-) Praise God; i'm doing well now getting the stiches out Wed then follow up treatments for the next 8 weeks. i will be keeping to clip on earrings a little longer - will be naughty much later lah. some pics below...dont freak out!

This is how it looks before choppin

Sentimental value?

Tadaaa!!! Dr say look like leech. its fibrous tissue...rubbery like.

huge. 3.5cm long; 1cm thick.



    
View from my bed

Thank you Jesus :-)

2 comments:

KongY said...

aiya...aileen mouth for hole. see starbucks got smudge marks

Unknown said...

masak ... makan...