After lifting the scalp and surviving the 7-hour operation, I finally cured the “bag on the skull”!

If fate told me to do it all over again, I would choose “hit luck” instead of “hit the wall”. After all, hitting the wall in 2015 laid the groundwork for my sad head.

What I said about “hitting the wall” is not an analogy, but a real game of force and reaction force while walking without looking at the road. After the pain and ignorance gradually subsided, a small lump swelled up.

As time went on, the pain gradually improved, but the small bag still did not subside, and it still hurt a little when pressed. Thinking that it’s unnecessary to go to the hospital for such a trivial matter, I choose to ignore it. “Maybe the swelling will go away when I wake up one day.”

I’ve been living peacefully with this bag for two or three years.

When I touched my forehead, it was still there; but the size and shape had not changed much. It was just a bump the size of a soybean, and it didn’t hurt much when I pressed it.

“Maybe something got in when I hit the wall?” I just murmured to myself, but I still didn’t have the thought to go to the hospital.

(At first, the bag on the head was not so obvious. Photo courtesy of the patient)< /i>

But by May 2018, things started not going as expected. I can clearly feel the bag growing and bulging.

At first, it took a long time for it to grow from the size of a soybean to about 1 cm, but it grew faster and faster.

What’s even more tragic is that with age and genetics, my hairline has completely receded over the years, and the forehead has become more and more shiny.

Besides my bewilderment when I look in the mirror every morning, many people around me start to notice my unusual appearance: “You’re the real version of ‘the head has a bag’.”

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This is a slightly sarcastic phrase that I hear at least once a day. People around me began to persuade me to go to the hospital for a checkup.

That was when I was at my busiest, often working overtime until it was dark. Occasionally, I can rest one day, and I just want to lie in bed to catch up with sleep. The idea of ​​”going to the hospital” is repeatedly brought up and put down many times.

When I met people who persuaded me to go to the doctor quickly, I just said hard to them: “Have you seen the old birthday star? That forehead is also a bulge, and it is filled with blessings and longevity… …”

Recalling the mood at that time later, I was also very surprised: the psychological burden brought by procrastination and taboo diseases is so powerful that it can make this strange shape of “brain with a bag” accompany one person five years.

In May 2019, the “unidentified mass” on the forehead that was only the size of a soybean grain at the beginning was not what it used to be. In the middle, it is impossible to choose to ignore it.

In addition to affecting the appearance, the large bag on the forehead pulls the scalp and causes a feeling of pressure, and I often feel stuffy and uncomfortable in my head.

And this lump is getting bigger and bigger, but its nature is unknown. It will inevitably make me wonder if I have a terminal illness like “forehead cancer”… No, I’d better go to the hospital Bar!

(The swollen bag on the patient’s head became more obvious. Photo courtesy of the patient)

Finally summoned up the courage to walk into the hospital. I did a large circle of blood, urine, and MRI electrocardiograms. I received a good news and a bad news:

The good news is that doctors think it is a benign lipoma, not a “brain cancer”, and it is not directly life-threatening;

The bad news is that the tumor will continue to grow, fast or slow and uncontrollable, and I probably won’t be able to avoid scalp surgery sooner or later.

“Now the MRI shows that the tumor is not too big, and it is located in the center of the forehead. You can go back and observe for the time being. If it grows too fast, the appearance changes or other discomforts will affect you. After living, the only option is surgery.” The doctor looked at the examination report and said, “There is no better way to intervene than surgery.”

The doctor is a prophecy.

(The swollen bag on the patient’s head is getting bigger and bigger. Photo courtesy of the patient)< /i>

In 2020, the bag on the forehead is getting bigger and bigger. The oppressive feeling of oppression gradually turned into a feeling of pain. From the initial dull pain in the forehead, it turned into a resonance-type, series-type pain in the entire head, accompanied by unbearable swelling of the eyes.

And the frequency of this kind of pain is getting higher and higher, once every two weeks, every time for a week; in October, when the headache attacked, it was difficult for me to even fall asleep.

At that time, I fully understood the situation of Monkey King: why is he afraid of the Tang monk who can only talk about it? Because Tang Seng can recite the hoop mantra, the hoop mantra can make Sun Wukong roll around in pain, just like this tumor can make me want to hit the wall in pain.

“I can’t bear it anymore, don’t delay, let’s do surgery!” I secretly made up my mind.

On November 28, 2020, the day after my birthday, I walked into the hospital again with a tragic and slaughtered mentality.

“Can you not have a headache? This whole forehead is covered with it!” The doctor said while frowning at the result, the tumor “grows too fast.”

In addition, the location of my tumor is relatively “immoral”. First, the compression of nerves will cause headache and increased intraocular pressure. Second, there is a great risk of venous thrombosis. Life-threatening in minutes.

“You have to be hospitalized. Schedule an operation as soon as possible to cut it off.” The doctor tapped my medical record with a pen in an unmistakable tone.

(I shaved my hair for surgery. Photo courtesy of patient)

December 3, 2020 was my “big day”, being pushed into the operating room at 8:00 a.m. and pushed out at 3:30 p.m.

I learned later that because the lipoma on my forehead was too large, the doctor had to open my entire scalp first, find out the location of the tumor, and adjust the surgical plan. , and then suture the scalp, and finally “cut out from the hairline”.

The scar on my head is 12 centimeters long, but the doctor is very skilled and buried the entire scar inside the hairline, so it is completely invisible from the outside – I am not disfigured.

And, even with such a large wound, it’s still a minimally invasive procedure. “As long as the skull is not opened, it is minimally invasive.” After listening to the doctor’s words, I still felt a little bit of happiness for myself.

For me, the 7-hour procedure was the least scary part of the whole treatment: anesthesia, closed and reopened eyes, and the “excess” had been removed. clean.

(me after surgery. Photo courtesy of patient)

But when the anesthetic wears off, the ordeal really begins.

You can’t eat or move around for 7 hours after surgery, I’ll endure it!

But the pain like a knife cut was completely uninterrupted, and even high doses of Fenbid were not relieved.

I almost forced my sister nurse to give me a pain pump, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to sleep for even a minute; and the pain lasted for about a week.

In addition, the medicine needs to be changed every three days after the operation, a total of three times; the process of changing the medicine seems to be like the scalp that has just grown a little has been reopened… It’s unbearable, unbearable to look back. .

On the third day after surgery, I was discharged. After half a month, the pain disappeared, and I got rid of the “brain with a bag” shape. A month later, the wound was completely healed, and I finally washed my hair comfortably with a sense of ritual.

By the way, there was a small episode in the middle: two days after I was discharged from the hospital, the entire right half of my face was swollen to the point where the skin was shiny, and I couldn’t open my eyes at all. I was so frightened that I hurried Consulted with the doctor and was told it was “skin effusion” and swelling was normal after surgery.

(I can’t open my eyes at all after surgery. Photo courtesy of the patient)

At that time, I took a selfie in the mirror, and the image was embarrassed and funny: the bald scoop that was shaved for the operation was shiny and shiny, and there was a large scar that was more than ten centimeters long across the hairline.

The whole face is swollen and shiny, and the right eye is like a walnut…a look of being beaten.

I took a selfie, and I shared my most embarrassed look with my friends group. As expected, I received many emojis expressing fright – I can’t be frightened alone, even if the one who brings fright The person is myself.

I still don’t understand why this tumor found me, and it grows in the center of my forehead? Did that bump plant the seeds for it? Is my unhealthy lifestyle giving it a chance? …and, will it recur?

But my primary doctor said that lipoma is a disease of “unknown pathogenesis.”

“It’s not something you eat, let alone stay up late. It’s very likely that it’s in your genes. Maybe you’re more likely to have this kind of tumor than others.”

As for its long position, there are no rules to follow. Lipoma may recur, but there is no better way to prevent it. “If it grows again, let’s talk about it.”

(Scar on top of my head from surgery. Photo courtesy of patient)

The pain of the surgery gradually faded in my memory, and the scar in the hairline was slowly hidden by the new hair.

Unexpectedly, I got a happy “side effect”:

Wrinkles on the face have been significantly smoothed, especially the wrinkles on the forehead have been swept away, and the fine lines at the corners of the eyes have also been greatly improved – this common surgical operation is still performed The effect of medical beauty; lying on the operating table, not only cut off the large tumor covering the entire forehead, but also did a “lift” for free…

Doctor Reviews

Li Jie

Chief Physician, Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University

Lipoma is a common benign soft tissue tumor composed of mature fat cells that can occur anywhere in the body with fat. Lipoma patients are usually middle-aged people between the ages of 40 and 60, and are less common in children.

Superficial lipomas can see single or multiple subcutaneous localized masses, and deep lipomas may cause pain, dysfunction, etc.

Lipomas are most commonly found in the shoulders, back, neck, breasts, and abdomen, followed by the proximal extremities (eg, upper arms, thighs, buttocks). The author’s lipoma is located in the frontotemporal area, which is an uncommon location.

Patients speculate that their forehead lipoma may be caused by bumps, and its rapid development is related to their unhealthy living habits.

But in fact, the etiology of lipoma is still unclear. Most scholars believe that it is related to inflammatory stimulation. A few patients have a family history. There are also views that lipoma is related to congenital dysplasia and systemic lipodystrophy. etc., but the evidence is insufficient.

A superficial lipoma that is located under the skin can also be found between the deep part of the limb and the muscle belly, called a deep lipoma.

This patient’s lipoma grows on the forehead”upper” is a typical superficial lipoma, and doctors can basically make a preliminary diagnosis through physical examination and symptoms.

For lipomas located inside the body, it is more necessary to combine the results of imaging examinations and pathological biopsy to make a comprehensive diagnosis. Some special parts such as cardiac lipomas need to be referred to relevant specialists after diagnosis. .

Lipoma tumors are generally small, but they can grow larger. They are soft and elastic to the touch, and can be moved slightly by pushing with your fingers. Lipomas usually have few serious symptoms or effects, and in this article, the lipomas on the author’s forehead grew larger and were accompanied by pain, mainly because the tumor grew and pressed against surrounding nerves, causing pain and numbness.

If it is a lipoma located near the intestine or the heart, it may cause more serious consequences, such as gastrointestinal obstruction or bleeding, abnormal heart function, etc., so even if the lipoma has a high probability of malignant transformation Low, and can not be taken lightly.

It must be emphasized again that any lump in the body must go to the hospital, and the doctor will give a professional diagnosis to avoid delaying the disease. Most lipomas are asymptomatic and do not require treatment, just pay attention to observation and regular review.

However, if the tumor is large and even compresses organs, nerves, etc., has dysfunction or pain symptoms, or affects the appearance, surgical resection can be selected.

The lipoma resection performed by the patient in this article is a minimally invasive surgery, with relatively small wounds and low risk of infection; because the surgical site is relatively special, it also has a cosmetic effect of “skinlifting”, which can Said it was an unexpected gain.

Author: Aimina Yuan | Editor: Wu Jiaxiang, Ye Zhengxing

Typesetting: Han Ningning | Proofreading: Wu Yihe

Operation: Li Yongmin | Coordinator: Wu Wei

*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment suggestion, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician, and is for reference only.

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