By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-26 13:20:56 | Updated at 2024-10-26 15:38:06
2 hours ago
A woman has undergone life-changing surgery to remove a massive golf ball sized growth from her neck which had been growing for over four years.
Olivia, 28, from Dudley in the West Midlands, revealed it's been 'exhausting' trying to hide the unusually large keloid, which is a raised scar that has become bigger than the original wound, and was protruding from the side of her neck.
Desperate to have her growth removed to improve her self-confidence, specialist nurse Olivia said also it started to impact her everyday life and day-to-day work supporting patients with learning disabilities.
In the latest series of The Bad Skin Clinic, Olivia had finally reached the point where she had to take action and decided to visit consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Craythorne in her London clinic, to have the keloid removed.
She said: 'It can be exhausting, trying to constantly be brave, and trying to hide it. It's my face, this is what everyone sees! Often at the end of the day the tears may come, it makes you sad.
Olivia, 28, from Dudley in the West Midlands, had life-changing surgery to remove a massive golf ball sized growth from her neck which had been growing for over four years
'My keloid… it really does get in the way. I often get my seat belt rubbing on it. If I'm trying to wear masks or PPE at work, I'm quite uncomfortable with it. I'm always rubbing it. It's like an itch and I can't stop doing it.'
In an initial consultation at the clinic, Dr Emma confirmed to Olivia that the growth was indeed a keloid, and explained how they develop.
Dr Emma pointed out that the growth could have been triggered by something as inconspicuous as a small acne spot on her neck.
She said: 'Essentially the cells that we have responsible for making a scar are called fibroblasts. If you cut yourself, or you have an injury, they start repairing that wound, and then once the injury is healed over, it stops repairing.
'But in somebody who has a tendency to keloids, those fibroblasts don't stop making scar tissue. So in your case this a genetically-inherited tendency.
'I suspect you might have even had a spot, like an acne spot or something like that. Something really little, and that's been enough to provoke this response.'
Dr Emma had good news for Olivia however, as the keloid was likely to be easily removable through surgery on the same day.
'I know you don't want it there, but it's grown in such a beautiful way and does not seem to be going deep into the skin nearby. This is a really nice keloid that should get a good outcome from surgery,' Dr Emma said.
Dr Emma held up the keloid after she surgically removed it from Oliva's neck
It was clear the significant impact that Olivia's surgery had had on her self-confidence and positive outlook on life
Having not expected to go into surgery that day, it was clear that Olivia was experiencing mixed emotions, happy to be having the keloid removed, yet anxious about the thought of surgery.
'I'm sh****** myself', Olivia bluntly responded when Dr Emma arrived at theatre and asked if she's OK.
After injecting the keloid to numb it, Dr Emma got to work with her scalpel, slowly and precisely making incisions to the keloid. Luckily for Olivia, the keloid was not too deep-rooted into the skin.
'It's a fairly superficial keloid... We're not having to really dig deep down into the skin to find all the roots of it,' Dr Emma said while manoeuvring her way accurately and efficiently around the keloid from different angles.
'This is where my yoga and pilates comes into play,' Dr Emma quipped. Before long, Dr Emma sliced through and fully removed the keloid from Olivia's neck, completing a successful surgery.
She said: 'There we go, that's our friend gone. It's always very satisfying to get a big lump off.'
The doctor then stitched up Olivia's skin in a certain way to reduce further scarring and she quickly grabbed a mirror to show a beaming Olivia her new neck.
After injecting the keloid to numb it, Dr Emma got to work with her scalpel, slowly and precisely making incisions to the keloid
Two weeks after the surgery, a delighted Olivia returned to the central London clinic with a spring in her step, excited to show Dr Emma her healing progress and feeling much more confident
The new series of The Bad Skin Clinic see's Dr Emma and her team face some of the most challenging cases of her career to date, as she helps those with nowhere left to turn
The doctor then stitched up Olivia's skin in a certain way to reduce further scarring and she quickly grabbed a mirror to show a beaming Olivia her new neck
'When somebody has something that's different about their face, it has an effect on them. You know, our face is so important to us in terms of communication, in terms of breathing, in terms of speaking, in terms of touch, all of these things.
'But also crucially, it's a point of contact that people look at, so it's not the same as having a lump growing somewhere else. When it's right in the middle of your face, it has an impact in all of those ways,' Dr Emma said.
Two weeks after the surgery, a delighted Olivia returned to the central London clinic with a spring in her step, excited to show Dr Emma her healing progress and feeling much more confident.
'I'm just looking forward to showing Dr Emma how my face is getting on. Colleagues have mentioned how great things are looking, I even had someone at the chip shop say 'ooh your thing's gone!' So I'm just looking forward to showing her my new face,' Olivia said.
As Dr Emma checked on her neck, she said: 'Wow. It's just amazing. Looking at you and you don't have your wobbly thing here.
'I know, my little spud' Olivia laughed. 'Honestly, I feel like people are actually looking at me and talking to me as opposed to looking down at my neck,' she continued.
Dr Emma pointed out that the scar is hardly visible from certain angles, but is also curious about the practical benefits of having the keloid removed.
'Oh yeah! My lanyard, it's not getting stuck, it's just sliding on…seatbelts… even like a bag, I can wear it on this side. Before I could never wear a bag this way. All these kinds of things, I'm so so happy,' Olivia replied.
It was clear the significant impact that Olivia's surgery had had on her self-confidence and positive outlook on life.
'I feel so pretty…having it gone is literally life-changing for me. I'm so much more confident, I'm not conscious when I'm taking pictures or even when I'm walking around.
'I'm not really trying to cover my face anymore. I feel so pretty. My life now is amazing. I'm feeling great, really confident, really happy. Just excited for the future.'
The new series of The Bad Skin Clinic see's Dr Emma and her team face some of the most challenging cases of her career to date, as she helps those with nowhere left to turn.
'When a skin disease affects the face it can be devastating. Not just physically, but also emotionally and socially. And that's where I come in,' she explained.
The Bad Skin Clinic airs on Really on Tuesdays at 9pm and is available to stream on discovery+.
