Successful surgery

Hello everyone,

I received my mucocele inside my lower right lip from a skateboarding accident which took place a year ago. I fell face first into the concrete and my tooth went through my lip. My lip healed fine on its own and I didn't get any stitches for it since it was only a small area that was injured. However, a month later a little lump formed where my lip was impacted and I mistook it for a canker sore. The only difference is it did not hurt (as canker sores usually do) and it fluctuated in size. After months of confusion, I went to the school nurse to get it diagnosed. She automatically recognized it and said she has treated several athletes for this through draining it, burning it and other methods. However, they all came back. Consequentially, she recommended a surgical removal of it through either laser treatment or a scalpel.

I visited my regular doctor, who then recommended me to an ENT specialist. A month later I came to the appointment and he scheduled me the following week to have it removed with a scalpel. The ENT doctor has treated many mucoceles and was so comfortable with it that upon our first meeting he said he could take it out right away if I could rest for the next two days, but I chose to postpone it.

A day before my appointment, my mucocele actually got so big that it drained itself! I showed up to the ENT doctor's office and he told me I didn't need it anymore unless it came back. I was sent home and of course, two days later, after accidentally biting it, it returned. I immediately called him back for a surgical procedure, regardless of what size it would be upon arrival.

The surgery was SO SIMPLE and lasted for no more then ten minutes. My lip was injected with local anesthesia so I couldn't feel a thing. His assistant pinched my cheek really hard during the injections and that was actually more painful than the needle itself. I was asked to keep my eyes closed while he did his magic (because he was carrying sharp objects which might be intimidating). He removed the mucocele with a scalpel and took a small amount of tissue from another part of my lip to cover the wounded area. The area was then sewn up with dissolvable stitches and I was told that I would not need to come back unless it became infected.

I was not prescribed any medicine whatsoever. All I was given was frozen peas (since it conforms to the shape of your face) to hold over my lip for the day, and I went to the drugstore to pick up extra-strength tylenol. I also rinsed my mouth with a cup of hydrogen peroxide mixed with water twice a day for the next three days. THAT'S IT! My lip looked horrible and I was paranoid after reading many people's experiences on this website. I almost regretted getting the surgery because I was worried about the healing process. I noticed some people were afraid of face deformations and went to a plastic surgeon or were worried so much that they posted something on this website on the first day of surgery and never followed up, but I wanted to let everyone know that mine was a success.

It has been exactly one week since my surgery. Although my lip made me look like i was Two-Face from Batman for the first couple days, now it is completely healed and my last stitch dissolved yesterday. I am extremely confident my mucocele will come back, even though the doctor said there is a small chance it just might. (Nothing is guaranteed 100% so he has to say this for his own liability). My lip is still slightly numb in that small area, but it looks just like how it did before I ate the concrete. I am very happy I took care of it.

[I am 22 years old, about to graduate from university, and I'm cut from my parent's health insurance in a couple months. Having insurance did great wonders for me for this process. My co-pay is $15. My doctor was so nice that when my surgery got cancelled, he refunded me my $15. All together, from bouncing to my regular doctor ($15) to the ENT specialist ($15) to the final surgery ($15) it cost me $45, though I could have saved $15 if I got my surgery upon my first visit with the ENT.]

Thanks, Mr. ENT specialist!

If you are in the Los Angeles/Orange County area, his name is Dr. Kramer and he is located at the Downey Pioneer Medical Center. He is awesome!