Woman has ‘life-changing’ surgery as 4-year-old neck growth is finally removed --[Reported by Umva mag]

She compared it to a 'spud'.

Oct 8, 2024 - 16:42
Woman has ‘life-changing’ surgery as 4-year-old neck growth is finally removed --[Reported by Umva mag]

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A woman who was suffering from a ‘spud-like’ growth on her neck has finally had it removed after four years.

28-year-old nurse Olivia had been dealing with the large keloid growth on the side of her face for years, which often left her in tears.

In an upcoming episode of The Bad Skin Clinic, she says: ‘It can be exhausting, trying to constantly be brave, and trying to hide it.

‘It’s my face, this is what everyone sees! Often at the end of the day the tears may come, it makes you sad.’

Deciding to take action, Olivia visits consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Craythorne to see about having the keloid removed, in the hope that it will help her self-confidence and change her day-to-day life.

Explaining the difficulties she faces, she says: ‘My keloid… it really does get in the way.

‘I often get my seatbelt rubbing on it, if I’m trying to wear masks or PPE at work, I’m quite uncomfortable with it.

‘I’m always rubbing it. It’s like an itch and I can’t stop doing it.’

Contributor Olivia pictured with her keloid scar prior to surgery.
Olivia has a four-year-old growth on her neck (Picture: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
Before and after shot of Olivia
She finally has it removed and is left with a ‘new face’ (Picture: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)

In a consultation, Dr Emma reveals that Olivia’s growth could have been triggered by something as inconspicuous as a small acne spot on her neck.

‘This is undoubtedly a keloid,’ the medic says, going on to explain how they form.

‘Essentially the cells that we have responsible for making a scar are called fibroblasts. If you cut yourself, or you have an injury, they start repairing that wound, and then once the injury is healed over, it stops repairing.

‘But in somebody who has a tendency to keloids, those fibroblasts don’t stop making scar tissue. So in your case this a genetically-inherited tendency.

‘I suspect you might have even had a spot, like an acne spot or something like that, something really little, and that’s been enough to provoke this response.’

A photo of Olivia
Olivia’s growth gets in the way of her day-to-day life (Picture: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)

Thankfully though, Olivia is able to undergo surgery that same day, though she’s left experiencing mixed emotions, happy to be having the keloid removed, yet anxious about the thought of surgery.

‘I’m s******g myself,’ she admits.

‘I know you don’t want it there, but it’s grown in such a beautiful way and does not seem to be going deep into the skin nearby. This is a really nice keloid that should get a good outcome from surgery,’ Dr Emma says.

Before long, Dr Emma has sliced through and fully removed the keloid from Olivia’s neck, completing a successful surgery.

‘There we go, that’s our friend gone. It’s always very satisfying to get a big lump off,’ she says, before stitching up Olivia’s skin to reduce further scarring.

Olivia smiles up at Dr Emma following her successful surgery.
She shares her story on The Bad Skin Clinic (Picture: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)

The patient, who is awake during the procedure, sees her neck for the first time in four years without the growth and is left delighted with her ‘new face’.

Two weeks after the surgery, she returns to the central London clinic feeling much more confident.

‘I’m just looking forward to showing Dr Emma how my face is getting on.

‘Colleagues have mentioned how great things are looking, I even had someone at the chip shop say “ooh your thing’s gone!” So I’m just looking forward to showing her my new face,’ she says. 

‘Wow. It’s just amazing. Looking at you and you don’t have your wobbly thing here,’ Dr Emma says.

Olivia smiles at Emma during her follow up consultation after her surgery.
‘Having it gone is literally life-changing for me.’ (Picture: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)

Olivia laughs back: ‘I know, my little spud.’

She goes on: ‘Honestly, I feel like people are actually looking at me and talking to me as opposed to looking down at my neck.’

‘My lanyard, it’s not getting stuck, it’s just sliding on…seatbelts… even like a bag, I can wear it on this side. Before I could never wear a bag this way. All these kinds of things, I’m so so happy,’ she adds.

Olivia continues: ‘Having it gone is literally life-changing for me. I’m so much more confident, I’m not conscious when I’m taking pictures or even when I’m walking around.

‘I’m not really trying to cover my face anymore. I feel so pretty. My life now is amazing. I’m feeling great, really confident, really happy. Just excited for the future!’

A brand-new 7th series of The Bad Skin Clinic airs on Really on Tuesdays from October 8 at 9pm and is also available to stream on discovery+. 

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