Removing a Lump in the Back of my Head
Mar. 2nd, 2026 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerI went under the knife today. I've had a lump on the back of my head that's been growing, slowly, for about 2 years. Today I had a surgical excision to remove it.
I asked if they'd bandage up my head like a mummy. They said they'd think about it, but then declined due ot the location. They said the bandages would have to go around my eyes. No mummymaxxing, apparently.
Instead I just a have a patch on the back of my head. The actual bandage is about 2" across. It looks a lot larger because of the adhesive patch to stick it to hair. Underneath there are stitches closing a surgical site a bit over an inch long.
What the doctor removed is likely a pilar cyst, a mass of hair follicles. It was 31x32mm in size. It's most likely benign and was not infected but was starting to become painful. Like, not painful most of the time since I'm a side-sleeper, but whenever I had to rest my head against a flat surface... ouch. Plus, I wanted them to remove the lump so they could test it in case it's not benign. It's being sent to the lab for testing now.
This puts the kibosh on going anywhere to celebrate retirement for at least the next week. The doctor's orders are no exertion, no lifting more than 10 lbs., and no submerging my head in water. The bandage I'm wearing I'll replace at home after 2 days, and I'll return to the clinic next Monday to have the stitches removed. The list of do-nots holds for 2 weeks.
I asked if they'd bandage up my head like a mummy. They said they'd think about it, but then declined due ot the location. They said the bandages would have to go around my eyes. No mummymaxxing, apparently.
Instead I just a have a patch on the back of my head. The actual bandage is about 2" across. It looks a lot larger because of the adhesive patch to stick it to hair. Underneath there are stitches closing a surgical site a bit over an inch long.
What the doctor removed is likely a pilar cyst, a mass of hair follicles. It was 31x32mm in size. It's most likely benign and was not infected but was starting to become painful. Like, not painful most of the time since I'm a side-sleeper, but whenever I had to rest my head against a flat surface... ouch. Plus, I wanted them to remove the lump so they could test it in case it's not benign. It's being sent to the lab for testing now.
This puts the kibosh on going anywhere to celebrate retirement for at least the next week. The doctor's orders are no exertion, no lifting more than 10 lbs., and no submerging my head in water. The bandage I'm wearing I'll replace at home after 2 days, and I'll return to the clinic next Monday to have the stitches removed. The list of do-nots holds for 2 weeks.
