Lily's Surgery

When Lily was a toddler I picked her up from school one day and noticed a bump on her forehead. It was puffy and red and I thought it might have been an ant bite since she had just played outside. Weeks went by and the bump didn't go away. It turned flesh colored and was less swollen.  When I took Lily in for her well-child check up her pediatrician said it looked like a skin abnormality (lesion.) He said that when she gets older we should have it removed.  Over time the lesion has been hidden by bangs but has remained and has even grown larger.  Each time Lily transitions to a new class at school the teachers panic and think she's been bitten by something. She's had that bump iced several times throughout the last few years. It makes Aaron and I laugh!  Now that Lily is at the age of three she's into beauty. She is obsessed with Disney Princesses and wants to look like a princess. She loves her long hair and has often asked me to grow her bangs out (YES...at age 3!) She began asking me about the bump on her head and said she wanted it to go away.  Since I'm home with Logan on a leave of absence Aaron and I thought it would be a good time to have the lesion removed.  Lily and I visited a plastic surgeon who was highly recommended by our pediatrician. She dramatically told him she wanted her bump to go away. The doctor told her it would be no problem and within a few days the surgery was scheduled.  For some reason I didn't anticipate this (surgery) to be a big deal. In reality, any time your child is put under anesthesia (even if it's moderate sedation) it's a big deal.  Lily was so big and brave through out the whole process. She never showed fear or cried. :-) Mommy had to try hard to not show worry.

I took these pictures right before they took Lily back to surgery.  She was smiling!  The surgery went great and the lesion was completely removed. The doctor said it should heal perfectly and with proper care (sunscreen and hats) the scar will eventually be invisible.  

Lily was a little crazy when coming out of the anesthesia and vomited pretty much the entire trip home (about 25 minutes.) Thankfully I was sitting in the backseat armed with a barf bag.  When I took her back to the surgeon, a week after the surgery the doctor said pathology reports showed the bump to be something called Urticaria Pigmentosa. He warned me if I looked online I would panic. Urticaria Pigmentosa is an abnormality of cell formations of the skin. Since Lily is perfectly healthy and has no other lesions we plan to put it behind us. I spoke with her pediatrician and he said that he consulted a pediatric dermatologist. The dermatologist said that some lesions can disguise themselves as urticaria pigmentosa when in reality they are just benign lesions.  Lily has a pink scar today that we are treating with Mederma. Thanks to everyone for the kind words, prayers, and concern. We are lucky to have such a wonderful support system.

Here's a video I captured of Lily and Logan the night after the surgery.