Chances are if you have found this blog it is because you, or someone you know, is about to go through a perotidectomy and you want to find out some more info through other people's experiences. I know thats what I did, and I also know that there are a lot of horror stories on the Internet and therefore I wanted to give my experience, a more positive experience than a lot (most) I've read.
First, I'll take you back to when/how I got diagnosed.
I can't remember exactly the first time I discovered a bean sized lump along my jaw line (almost beside my ear) but I decided to get it investigated by my GP around 5 years ago. A locum (stand in doctor) seen me, felt it and told me to ignore it, it was nothing to worry about. So that's what I did. In hindsight, and from what other practitioners have now told me, you should never ignore a lump... Get it investigated and don't allow doctors to play guessing games. It's worth mentioning, my lump was moveable and hard to the touch with no pain associated with it.
Skip forward to a year and a half ago (March 2013), it had gotten a little bigger and I was constantly getting colds and bugs so thought it was worth another mention to my regular GP (I made sure to get him this time). As it turns out, the colds and bugs where unrelated but after a feel of the lump he referred me to an ultrasound.
I waited a few months for my appointment, a doc took the ultrasound because of where the lump was located. He put some gel on my jaw and neck and scanned the area for a few minutes. He told me he wasn't sure what it was, but because of its size they would rescan in a few months and see if it had grown any. My lump was measured at 2.5 cm.
3 months later, another scan and he decides to do a fine needle biopsy to better determine what it is. It has grown a little more so this was cause for concern. The FNB wasn't the worst, it was a little bit sore and unpleasant but not unbearable. It took around 5 minutes, poking the area with a needle to get some cells. My boyfriend was there to hold my hand because I'm a big baby, but you can go on about your daily business once it's over.
Next stage was getting the results. Finding out what you are dealing with is scary and a bit daunting, luckily in my case I found out at my next appointment that it was a pleomorphic adenoma, a benign tumour on the parotid gland. This type of tumour continues to grow and has a risk of turning malignant down the line, so I was told it had to go (although the surgery is elective but it is advised to get it removed. As I said, it continues to grow and this can cause even more problems and make it harder down the line.)
Of course though, removal wasn't necessarily going to be as straight forward as I thought. I was told it would be major surgery, and there are some pretty scary risks as the gland the tumour was on has lots of important facial nerves through it, meaning the possibility of snipping or damaging a nerve was there... Which would cause facial weakness/ facial palsy. This was my main worry... And boy did I worry.
After the surgeon ran me through the procedure, she explained I would be cut from the front of my ear, down under my ear and down my neck. Not quite the size I was expecting for such a little lump, but they do this so they can work and protect the nerve. She also explained that they use nerve sensors which alert them during surgery if they go too close to a nerve. I was told I would need at least 3 weeks off work for recovery
The next step after that was my pre-op assessment a few months later, where they take an ECG, blood tests etc and do a general health check.
The only thing left at that stage was to wait for the actual surgery. Sorry this was a bit long winded, but just for anyone interested in my journey leading up to the surgery. In my. Next post I will run through what to expect on the day of surgery.
In total it took a year and a half from that second GP visit to get a confirmed diagnosis, for me.
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