Another year, another growth

Slightly over two years ago, I had a growth removed from my neck. In the twenty four months since, I've been to see the skin doctor twice. The treatment in the first visit was having actinic keratoses all over the body removed with liquid nitrogen, but nothing more serious than that. My latter visit at the end of November, though, threw up something else: some form of growth on my head. I was referred to a plastic surgeon for a biopsy and excision. For some reason, there is no longer a plastic surgeon in Bet Shemesh so I had to make an appointment for one in Jerusalem. This took nearly four months to come to fruition.

Today the wife drove me to Jerusalem (she likes driving, I don't) for the appointment that was supposed to be 10:20 am. Due to the conditions in Jerusalem, we left early - far too early. We arrived at the clinic at 9:00 am and I was advised to wait until 9:40 to get my appointment number. This I did, then we waited ... and waited ... and waited. I think that I didn't get in to see the doctor until about 11:40 and I left at 12:30 pm. It turns out that the doctor had been on holiday for a few weeks and there had been no replacement, so there were appointments set for every ten minutes when each one could take twenty minutes or longer.

When I finally got in, the treatment was straight-forward. First of all, the doctor had a look at my referral, at my picture and at my head. Then I went to a nurse's station to have my blood pressure taken yet again. At this stage, the doctor came into the room and gave me an injection of local anaesthesia (presumably lidocaine) into the head; I barely felt this. Then I was sent into the 'operating room' where I laid down for several minutes before the doctor came in. I felt a touch and smelt a little burning, then a cold spray. That was it! The cold spray apparently is instead of a bandage as would normally be applied.

When I came out, there were a group of people around my wife: apparently they had been swapping stories. One person asked how the treatment was and I answered (as always) that it was much easier than going to the dentist. Everyone seemed reassured.

I don't expect to receive an answer from the pathology lab until after Pesach, four weeks from now. Then we'll see what further treatment, if any, is required.