My "beautifully done" nose

I went to have my stitches removed on Tuesday.

On first sight, my doctor wasn't quite sure how he was going to tackle the task.  But he eventually figured it out and only caused a couple of "ouch" responses from me.  It really wasn't too bad an exercise.

Once he was finished, he exclaimed, "Beautiful job!  The surgery I mean, not the taking out of the stitches.  It's a beautiful surgical job indeed."  And he rushed to get me a mirror so I could see before he covered it.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder and a doctor is used to seeing many surgical sites.  In the scheme of things, my nose was a beaut.  (I've never been told I had a beautiful nose, but I'll take it.)

Anyway, here it is, the before and after:

It really is amazing though, how much healing has happened in just under a week.  I'm trusting that the bruise will eventually disappear, along with most of the evidence of the surgery.

Only time will tell.

I was told at the Mohs clinic to keep it covered for another week after the stitches are removed, and then it's up to me whether I want to cover it.  (If it's still too ugly, I can cover it when I'm going out and leave it open when I'm at home.)

My instinct at this point is, it doesn't matter how ugly it might be -- the dressing is so uncomfortable, once I no longer HAVE to wear it, I won't be.  If people stare, so be it.

After all, my doctor said it's beautiful!