3 nights at TMC Clark

[earthdome]

Glad to hear everything went well. Thanks for the report.

[graham59]

Wishing you a speedy recovery sir.  

[Old55]

Wishing you a fast complete recovery Don. Keep us posted please?

[Eddie1]

All the best Don, wishing you a safe and speedy recovery.

[GeoffH]

Get well soon Don

[intrepid]

Hoping for a speedy recovery.  Get well soon!  Thanks for the info.  Sounds like a good hospital.

[Jake]

Looks like this road trip to Clark, validates your reasoning about possibly moving there from Subic.  Anyway Don, we appreciate your hard lessons learned -- that ignoring warning signs from your doctor or especially from your own body, can lead to more complications.

My warm regards to you and your family.  Respectfully Jake  

[OnMyWay]

1 minute ago, Jake said:

that ignoring warning signs from your doctor

Not quite the case this time Jake.  I'm going to see if I have an e-mail to my sister about it, and copy paste here.  

[OnMyWay]

Here is the history of my shoulder problem from an e-mail to my sisters before the surgery.

===================

I feel stupid about the history on this damn thing.  I should have got second opinions much sooner.  In 2011 or 12, my Kentucky dermatologist saw a place and said that has to come off.  No biopsy.  I think it was part of about 10 spots treated that cost me $850 because my deductible was not met yet!  It was 15 minutes work for him!

 

So then after I moved to PH, there was a small scar that was growing.  I thought it was a keloid and went to a dermatologist in Olongapo.  She said we treat keloids with steroid injections.  I went to her maybe 5 times and there was no indication it worked.

 

So then I found this dermatologist in Clark with high tech lasers.  Seems like a smart guy and supposedly got his laser training at Harvard.  I went to him not for the scar, but for removing other small places from my "sunburned way too many times" skin.  In particular one mole type place on my cheek.  He did a biopsy on that one and it was basal cell.  He lasered it off.  That was 2015, I think.

 

I had shown him the shoulder scar and he said, "Yes, I can remove keloids with the laser."  So we started a treatment in 2016 by again using steroid injections to "soften it up".  It continued to grow.  So finally, in August 2017, he lasered it down level with the surrounding shoulder.  It was probably a 3 inch oval at that time and maybe raised 1/2 inch.

 

No biopsy was done.  After it was flattened out, it started growing again and we/he assumed the keloid was returning.  He started steriod injections again.  And the wound was not completely healing.  He said the steriods also keep it from healing fast so that it would not having scarring.  It continued to grow.  Finally, in July 2018 I told him I would discontinue the injections in order to let it close up, good or bad.  It continued to grow and never closed up.  I saw him one more time after that but no treatment for the "scar".  He looked at it and said he could remove it again.

 

It continued growing quite grotesquely, and the middle was never healing up.  Finally last month, I found this plastic surgeon at a good hospital in Clark.  He looked at it and the first thing out of his mouth was "biopsy".  He said when a wound does not heal like mine, something else is going on.  And sure enough, basal cell.  Luckily not anything worse!  By this time it was about 4 inches wide and 1 inch high, and growing deeper too.

 

So, back to the mole thing on my cheek.  The laser doc treated it 4 times and it has still had something coming back.  So the plastic surgeon is also going to take that area out and do the "frozen section" on it, at the same time as the other surgery.  I'll have a scar.

===================

So, the plastic surgeon told me what his treatment plan was.  I'll fill you in on that later.

 

[stevewool]

Hope you are taking things easy and a speedy recovery too.