Hi
I just wanted to post this to warn others about surgery. I saw an oral & maxillofacial surgeon to remove my mucocele in early December 2006.
He removed the mucocele, salivary gland and a lot of tissue with it and now my lower lip looks uneven. There is a gap on one side when my mouth is relaxed and closed, and when I smile. My lip is also still numb over a fairly large area, inside and out.
After researching on the internet, I thought the removal would be very straightforward and uncomplicated. I now wish that I had investigated further and found a surgeon who could have removed it by laser. Or one who would have been more concerned about maintaining the symmetry of my lip! I think my surgeon botched it up, so I just want to warn people to be very careful, don't rush into surgery and perhaps try to get a second opinion about removal options if you can.
I've got an appointment in April to see a plastic surgeon about whether the 'gap' can be fixed, eg with collagen. But I'm also wary of having any more procedures, in case it leads to further complications or risks. And there's not much they can do about loss of sensation, which is depressing.
I thought it was a simple procedure and now I've got a disfigurement, at the age of 26. I am so mad at the first surgeon.
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A Warning About Surgery
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I am in the exact same boat as you are. The first surgeon who removed my first mucocele obviously did not care about the symmetry of my bottom lip. I used to have a very full bottom lip which makes it look even worse because the left side is normal and plump while the right side is skinny with a weird looking scar tissue bump. I went and got a second mucocele removed from the same area by a different surgeon and she did a much better job and told me that the previous guy did not do a very good job at all. I understand how you feel, I am also young at the age of 21 and have to deal with this disfigurement haunting me every time I look in the mirror. I am told that I have to wait at least a year before I even consider plastic surgery which makes me upset. The right side of my lip is completely numb aswell soooo depressing. I wish I had something good to tell you but the reality is that you will have to wait a year before cosmetic surgery.
Having read this I feel compelled to add my experience to it. I had a mucocele on the right side of my lower lip removed in early 2006, having had it for around 2 months. It was removed by surgery and to this day I am unable to feel the inside and outside of the right side of my lower lip. The mucocele never returned but I have now had one on the left side of my lower lip for around 2 months and am in a bit of a quandry about what to do. I keep perforating it but at the moment I am unable to do so. I'll definitely try the evening primrose oil suggestion I've read about on here but does anyone know whether ALL mucoceles will eventually correct themselves without the need for surgery? I really don't want not to be able to feel my entire bottom lip. It's embarrassing enough as it is accidentally pouring a drink down my top every now and again because I can't feel the glass.
guest poster
I also had surgery on my right side, about a year ago. Now I have one on my left side too. You could try the primrose oil, but it doesn't seem promising, sadly. I've heard of accounts where mucoceles go away on their own, but it seems like most of the time they don't and the only way to get rid of them is surgery, unfortunately. And it also seems like people get surgeries done after 2 months of having them if they can, on average. That's how long people can take of the awful things.
I'm not looking forward to having surgery done, but I can't wait to get rid of the thing. I'd like to think if I get the surgery on the left side, I'd be more likely NOT to bite my lip (even when I didn't even bite my lip and it just appeared mysteriously) because of the scar lump it'll create, so in turn hopefully no future mucoceles? Maybe that's just wishful thinking. It's a hard decision, let us know what you decide to do.
guest_guest mine also appeared mysteriously and I lasted three months with it.... Surgery is not that easy I am still recovering from it so all i hope is that my lip will go back to normal. I am paying out of my savings and I am far from rich that's saying how much this thing was bothering me!!
Well today I spoke to the Dr and he said if it hasn't resolved after 2 months then it aint gonna happen. I'm in the UK and they don't do this procedure by laser on the NHS and there's no way I can go private. Great! Potential disfigurement and the possibility of my entire bottom lip never having any feeling again, ever! But I'm sick of having to perforate the blasted thing every night and release what looks like a whole cup of fluid out of it! I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place!
I Had mine removed in sept left with numb top lip been told wont get any better. Lip also disfigured wouldnt have bothered if i knew all this as it didnt bother me at all. Numb for life wasnt worth it wont again
Gosh that sounds bad donnablue. I'm due to have my surgery in 2 weeks and I must say this thing is really bothering me. I now can't perforate it anymore for some reason so it's permanently enlarged and keeps catching on my teeth when I talk and eat. It's not really visible to someone who doesn't know unless they really look hard when my mouth is open so on a purely aesthetic level I could probably leave it but I'm conscious of it all the time. I'm always either running my tongue over it and biting it and can't go on like this. I had my first one removed in early 2002 (not 2006 as I said previously) and the area is still numb. It's not completely dead but rather has that sensation of when feeling is just starting to return after being numb. I'm not sure if I could handle having my entire bottom lip feel like this but I suppose I got used to it on the right side. I just wanted to know how your lip has been disfigured. Is it very obvious? That probably worries me most as thankfully I wasn't disfigured the first time.
Hi my lip is three times the size of my bottom lip and the side i had lump removed hangs down very lop sided wasnt told any of this before operation. He said he has sewn it to tight but will release this in april next year. Was surprised when i told him it was numb, answer was must have caught my nerves. Been told he should have done biospy to make sure it wasnt cancer, but i had had the lump for seven years as i told him this before operation
guest poster
Sounds like a very unreliable doctor. Sorry to hear about your experience, donnablue. Have you considered plastic surgery?
Surgery on mucoceles isn't the ideal situation, but it's the only way to get rid of them, it seems. Unless people can wait it out and hope that it goes away. I have one that got larger and receded for three weeks. For a week or two I thought it was gone for good, but I jinxed it and now it's back. I don't think it'll ever permanently go away now. :(
You sound like you were unlucky there donnablue but hopefully the physical change is not permanent and it can be remedied next year but I have no idea why you have to wait so long. As I said my doctor told me that if a mucocele has not gone after 2 months it never will on its own. The one I have now did exactly the same as the previous poster's did, i.e seemed to disappear for a while then return. I think the best advice is to leave well alone because I have repeatedly aggravated mine in an attempt to reduce the size but in the long run I think I've actually made it bigger and therefore increased the likelihood of visible scarring on the outside. However I will make sure I ask the surgeon lots of questions about possible scarring beforehand after having read the comments on this site.
guest poster
Yeah, there will be scarring. And you'll feel a permanent hard little lump from the surgery too, which is not another mucocele but almost seems it.
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