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Numbness and Scarring After Mohs Surgery

asked 1 year ago by christina in ky in Louisville, KY
Latest answer by Daniel Berg, MD
Question viewed 1,403 times
Tags: nose, numb, scar

I am a 48 yr old woman who had Mohs Sx 2 weeks ago. The incision begins at the top of the nose beside the left eye and goes down the left side of the nose and across the tip of the nose. A large portion of my nose is numb and the scarring is not pretty. Am I jumping the gun, or will my results get better? I am not ready to wear this nose even at my age. Thank you

10 answers to Numbness and Scarring After Mohs Surgery

+1

Duration of Numbness and Wound Healing after Surgery

It takes 6-12 months to get the final result after any surgery so you may be a little early to be concerned. Numbness is also common and disappears in about 90% of patients. If your cancer was particularly large or deep or involved larger branches of sensory nerves, the likelihood of complete recovery will be less. You might talk to your doctor about treatment options to improve the final cosmetic result. This might include silicone gel products or dermabrasion 2-3 months after surgery. more
Andrew Kaufman, MD

Los Angeles Dermatologic Surgeon

www.dermatology-center.com

+1

Healing after Mohs surgery

You are certainly reasonable to have concerns given the location but like others who have answered the question I will emphasize that 2 weeks after surgery is far too soon to judge the final results.  Several aspects about scars improve over the first few weeks to months and often up to a year after surgery.  These include: redness, bumpiness, numbness, visibility.  Occasionally your surgeon may feel there is some benefit to "touch-up" procedures after the... more
Daniel Berg, MD

Seattle Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Your body needs time to heal

With time, your scar will improve and most likely your sensation will also return. Healing can take up to two years... but hopefully you will feel more confident after 2-3 months.
Jeffrey Ellis, MD

Long Island Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Scars take time to improve after Mohs reconstruction

You have a healthy anxiety about the appearance of your nose but surgery wounds and scars take more than a year to improve.  Numbness quite commonly improves over time with the onset of tingling or "crawling" sensations that develop over many months.  The dorsal nasal advancement rotation flap you seem to have undergone is a very commonly performed reconstruction for nasal tip defects to minimize the distortion of the tip.  There is a displacement of skin from the... more
Ronald Shelton, MD

Manhattan Dermatologist
+1

Lack of sensation after Mohs surgery

It is very common to cut superficial sensory nerves after Mohs surgery. In most cases, they do come back, but may take time, even as long as 6 to 8 months. With respect to the scar, be patient, It has only been two weeks. It Will get better. I would wait 6 to 8 months before doing anything with the scar. Dr. Behnam.
Ben Behnam, MD

Santa Monica Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Numbness and scarring after Mohs micrographic surgery

It is not uncommon to have localized numbness after Mohs micrographic surgery. The good news is that  numbness typically resolves after 3-6 months as there are redundancy in sensory nerve endings. It helps to minimize numbness and scarring with steady circular massage in affected area 4 weeks after surgery, 10 times every 6-8 hours.
William Ting, MD

Bay Area Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Mohs

I would give it at least 6months.  There are many easy things which can improve this type of scar.  As for sensation, it may take many weeks for it to return and you may have some long standing sensation loss.   Dr. Malouf
Peter Malouf, DO

Dallas Dermatologist

mytotalskincare.com

+1

Scarring and numbness after Mohs surgery

The final appearance of the repair occurs between 6-12 months following the procedure.  The tendency is for gradual improvement over that time-frame.  As one of the responders mentioned, if after 6 months to 1 year you are unhappy with the final appearance, consider consulting with your facial plastic surgeon for treatment options including kenalog (cortisone) injections, dermabrasion, surgical scar revision.
Bryan K. Chen, MD

San Diego Dermatologist
+1

Scarring after Mohs surgery

It usually takes 6 months for a scar to reach it's least noticable stage. So 2 weeks is too early. Numbness is common but typically resolves as well. Not a bad idea to discuss with plastic surgeon though.
Steven Hacker, MD

West Palm Beach Dermatologic Surgeon

www.palmbeachdermasurgery.com

+1

Be patient

If it has only been 2 weeks since your surgery, it is still very early in the healing process.   It sounds and sort of looks like you had a dorsal nasal flap.  That is a big flap that will invariably affect some of the nerves giving sensation to the nose.  Usually within 2-3 months, the sensation returns; so your numbness is not atypical with this repair.  As for the cosmesis of your nose, be patient as well.  There are several things that your surgeon... more
Brent Spencer, MD

Frisco Dermatologic Surgeon

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