rivka

I saw the plastic surgeon this morning for the bump on my nose that I thought might be a basal cell carcinoma. He doesn't think it's carcinoma at all. He looked at it through magnifying glasses and said it was probably a rosacea-related papule. He also found another tiny one nearby, which I'd missed.

He decided to cauterize them, which he explained would be done without anesthesia because the lidocaine injection would hurt more than the cautery. It was done right in the exam room - I didn't even need to change into a gown. He had me hold the nurse's hands so I wouldn't move, and then zapped me six times with a little electric tool. It hurt in a prickly-electric violet wand sort of way, just at the instant of each touch. The worst part was feeling the heat when the tool was poised over my face. Also the smell of burning. Augh. Then it was over, and I got daubbed with antibiotic cream and told to use some more of it over the next couple days.

I have a follow-up appointment in three months. If the bumps come back, we'll go ahead with a biopsy. I'm a little dubious about his diagnosis, but since simple removal - which he did - is the usual treatment for basal cell carcinoma, I'm not going to worry about it unless they come back.