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Hey – just thought I'd leave a follow-up post here for the sake of anyone in the future who might have similar questions. I had my follow-up excision on Friday (August 31, 2012) at DaVinci surgery.

In my consultation, Dr. Steven Davison said that my .56 melanoma was, of course, Stage IA and that – other than it being on my head / neck, it was the least bad way to have melanoma. He said that, in general, he wouldn't look at doing a sentinel node biopsy until .75mm depth. He asked whether I was a scientific-type who wanted to know all the answers or someone who wanted to go by the numbers. I didn't immediately understand his meaning, so I just answered honestly: that I believe in going by the numbers. So he said he definitely wouldn't do the sentinal node biopsy.

The surgery did not require a skin graft – they said I had enough skin and pliability that it wouldn't be a problem. Recovery is definitely not fun – the whole left side of my head and neck feel like a giant, throbbing bruise. But it's getting better, and my range of motion isn't actually that restricted… the skin itself doesn't feel tighter than with my original excision.

Anyway – thanks again for the comments on my original post. I'm very grateful!

Hey – just thought I'd leave a follow-up post here for the sake of anyone in the future who might have similar questions. I had my follow-up excision on Friday (August 31, 2012) at DaVinci surgery.

In my consultation, Dr. Steven Davison said that my .56 melanoma was, of course, Stage IA and that – other than it being on my head / neck, it was the least bad way to have melanoma. He said that, in general, he wouldn't look at doing a sentinel node biopsy until .75mm depth. He asked whether I was a scientific-type who wanted to know all the answers or someone who wanted to go by the numbers. I didn't immediately understand his meaning, so I just answered honestly: that I believe in going by the numbers. So he said he definitely wouldn't do the sentinal node biopsy.

The surgery did not require a skin graft – they said I had enough skin and pliability that it wouldn't be a problem. Recovery is definitely not fun – the whole left side of my head and neck feel like a giant, throbbing bruise. But it's getting better, and my range of motion isn't actually that restricted… the skin itself doesn't feel tighter than with my original excision.

Anyway – thanks again for the comments on my original post. I'm very grateful!

Hey – just thought I'd leave a follow-up post here for the sake of anyone in the future who might have similar questions. I had my follow-up excision on Friday (August 31, 2012) at DaVinci surgery.

In my consultation, Dr. Steven Davison said that my .56 melanoma was, of course, Stage IA and that – other than it being on my head / neck, it was the least bad way to have melanoma. He said that, in general, he wouldn't look at doing a sentinel node biopsy until .75mm depth. He asked whether I was a scientific-type who wanted to know all the answers or someone who wanted to go by the numbers. I didn't immediately understand his meaning, so I just answered honestly: that I believe in going by the numbers. So he said he definitely wouldn't do the sentinal node biopsy.

The surgery did not require a skin graft – they said I had enough skin and pliability that it wouldn't be a problem. Recovery is definitely not fun – the whole left side of my head and neck feel like a giant, throbbing bruise. But it's getting better, and my range of motion isn't actually that restricted… the skin itself doesn't feel tighter than with my original excision.

Anyway – thanks again for the comments on my original post. I'm very grateful!

That's a fair warning. My dermatologist has definitely emphasized how serious this is and mentioned the risks of recurrance and metastization that do still exist. Struggling to find the right emotional balance right now between "holy #$@% something very serious has happened to me" and "maybe I'm over-reacting because most people who get cancer don't get to remove some skin and probably be cured?"

That's a fair warning. My dermatologist has definitely emphasized how serious this is and mentioned the risks of recurrance and metastization that do still exist. Struggling to find the right emotional balance right now between "holy #$@% something very serious has happened to me" and "maybe I'm over-reacting because most people who get cancer don't get to remove some skin and probably be cured?"

That's a fair warning. My dermatologist has definitely emphasized how serious this is and mentioned the risks of recurrance and metastization that do still exist. Struggling to find the right emotional balance right now between "holy #$@% something very serious has happened to me" and "maybe I'm over-reacting because most people who get cancer don't get to remove some skin and probably be cured?"

That explanation makes a lot of sense; I'm familiar with the elliptical principle from my first evaluative excision, so I ought to have been able to figure that out myself.

Ugh. It's really ridiculous that I can't hold on to the proper perspective, here, which is that I'm incredibly lucky to have it be stage I. Already I'm feeling sorry for myself about the followup WLE.

That explanation makes a lot of sense; I'm familiar with the elliptical principle from my first evaluative excision, so I ought to have been able to figure that out myself.

Ugh. It's really ridiculous that I can't hold on to the proper perspective, here, which is that I'm incredibly lucky to have it be stage I. Already I'm feeling sorry for myself about the followup WLE.

That explanation makes a lot of sense; I'm familiar with the elliptical principle from my first evaluative excision, so I ought to have been able to figure that out myself.

Ugh. It's really ridiculous that I can't hold on to the proper perspective, here, which is that I'm incredibly lucky to have it be stage I. Already I'm feeling sorry for myself about the followup WLE.

Janner – thanks very much for your reply. Thanks for the introduction to the term WLE, too. The wound is definitely in a great place for hair coverup, but, yeah, even this initial excision has restricted my head movement a bit. It's good to know that even if there's significant initial tightness that it'll get better over time.

Thanks for the congratulations, and thanks again for sharing those details.

Janner – thanks very much for your reply. Thanks for the introduction to the term WLE, too. The wound is definitely in a great place for hair coverup, but, yeah, even this initial excision has restricted my head movement a bit. It's good to know that even if there's significant initial tightness that it'll get better over time.

Thanks for the congratulations, and thanks again for sharing those details.

Janner – thanks very much for your reply. Thanks for the introduction to the term WLE, too. The wound is definitely in a great place for hair coverup, but, yeah, even this initial excision has restricted my head movement a bit. It's good to know that even if there's significant initial tightness that it'll get better over time.

Thanks for the congratulations, and thanks again for sharing those details.