What should I expect after Mohs surgery?
I am having Mohs surgery for SSC (the size of a quarter on the back of my hand) on Sept 23rd. I work in a bakery so lots of hand and dishwashing. Any idea what I should expect after the surgery? I also have the same on my face and lower leg. Those surgeries are scheduled for the end of October. Thank you.
You will get a sheet of instructions, telling you to keep the bandage on and dry for 24 hours, then remove, clean and redress the wound. Clear instructions asking you to use purchased sterile
(or boiled) water, aquaphor or vaseline for the dressing, and non-stick gauze pad over that, i use paper anti-inflammatory tape as my skin is sensitive. Repeat daily for several days, until you return to have sutures removed. It helped me to go to the pharmacy and have all that stuff on hand and it really helped me to have my husband, a first responder for years, there to manage the wound care with me. Wishing you good outcomes ... and by the way, all of my scars disappear i time. 😀The surgery went fine the surgery went fine make sure to ask for pain meds because the stitches really hurt I had mine done yesterday so there's still a lot of painmine was about a nickel-sized right below the knuckle on my ring finger I have stitches from my knuckle to my wrist now
I also made my doctor demonstrate how to clean the wound for the first time so that I would do a good job. They wanted to hustle me out the door but I was insistent. It allayed much nervousness. How they think we instinctively know how to do these things is beyond me.
...that is awesome advice. Not many of us think to ask the hard questions right after a procedure. I admire that tenacity! Good for you!
And you are correct. So many doctors think the discharge instructions on a sheet of paper will be sufficient. Sometimes they could not be more wrong!
April, SkinCancer.net, Moderator
