A woman has undergone life-changing surgery to remove a huge golf ball-sized growth from her neck that had been growing for more than four years.
Olivia, 28, from Dudley in the West Midlands, revealed it was ‘exhausting’ trying to hide the unusually large keloid, a raised scar that has grown larger than the original wound and protruded from the side of her neck.
Nurse Olivia was desperate to have her roots removed to boost her confidence and said it was also starting to impact her daily life and her daily work supporting patients with learning disabilities.
In the latest series of The Bad Skin Clinic, Olivia had finally reached the point where she had to take action and decided to visit dermatologist Dr Emma Craythorne at her London clinic to have the keloid removed.
She said: ‘It can be exhausting to constantly be brave and hide it. It’s my face, this is what everyone sees! There are often tears at the end of the day, it makes you sad.
Olivia, 28, from Dudley in the West Midlands, underwent life-changing surgery to remove a huge golf ball-sized growth from her neck, which had been growing for more than four years
‘My keloid… it’s really in the way. I often get problems with my seat belt rubbing against it. When I try to wear masks or PPE at work, I feel quite uncomfortable. I always rub it. It feels like an itch and I can’t stop it.’
During an initial consultation at the clinic, Dr Emma confirmed to Olivia that the growth was indeed a keloid, and explained how they develop.
Dr. Emma pointed out that the growth could have been caused by something as inconspicuous as a small acne spot on her neck.
She said: ‘Essentially the cells responsible for creating a scar are called fibroblasts. If you cut yourself, or if you have an injury, they start by repairing that wound, and once the injury is healed, the recovery stops.
‘But in someone who is predisposed to keloids, those fibroblasts do not stop making scar tissue. In your case this is a genetically hereditary tendency.
“I’m guessing you might have had a spot, an acne spot or something like that. Something very small, and that’s enough to provoke this reaction.’
However, Dr Emma had good news for Olivia as the keloid could likely be easily removed via surgery on the same day.
‘I know you don’t want it there, but it has grown so nicely and doesn’t seem to penetrate deep into the skin. This is a very nice keloid that should yield good results after surgery,” said Dr. Emma.
Doctor Emma held up the keloid after surgically removing it from Oliva’s neck
It was clear what a major impact Olivia’s surgery had had on her self-confidence and positive outlook on life.
Not expecting to have surgery that day, it was clear that Olivia was experiencing mixed feelings, happy to have the keloid removed, but still concerned about the thought of surgery.
“I’m sh****** myself,” Olivia responded bluntly when Dr. Emma arrived at the theater and asked if she was okay.
After injecting the keloid to numb it, Dr. Emma went to work with her scalpel, slowly and precisely making incisions into the keloid. Luckily for Olivia, the keloid wasn’t too deep in the skin.
“It’s a fairly superficial keloid… We don’t really have to dig deep into the skin to find all of its roots,” Dr. Emma said as she maneuvered around the keloid accurately and efficiently from different angles.
“This is where my yoga and pilates come into play,” Dr. Emma joked. It didn’t take long before Dr. Emma cut the keloid and completely removed it from Olivia’s neck, completing a successful surgery.
She said, ‘There we go, there our friend is gone. It’s always very satisfying to get a big lump off.’
The doctor then stitched Olivia’s skin in a certain way to reduce further scarring and she quickly grabbed a mirror to give Olivia a beaming look at her new neck.
After injecting the keloid to numb it, Dr. Emma went to work with her scalpel, slowly and precisely making incisions into the keloid.
Two weeks after the operation, a delighted Olivia returned to the clinic in central London with bounce, excited to show Dr Emma her healing progress and feeling much more confident.
In the new series of The Bad Skin Clinic, Dr Emma and her team face some of the most challenging cases of her career to date, as she helps people with nowhere to turn.
The doctor then stitched Olivia’s skin in a certain way to reduce further scarring and she quickly grabbed a mirror to give Olivia a beaming look at her new neck.
‘If someone has something different about their face, it affects them. You know, our face is so important to us in terms of communication, in terms of breathing, in terms of speaking, in terms of touch, all these things.
‘But also crucially, it’s a point of contact that people look at, so it’s not the same as growing a lump somewhere else. “If it’s right in the middle of your face, it has an impact in all these ways,” Dr Emma said.
Two weeks after the operation, a delighted Olivia returned to the clinic in central London with resilience, excited to see Dr. Emma showed her healing progress and she felt much more confident.
‘I’m just looking forward to showing Dr Emma how my face is doing. Colleagues have said how great things look, I even had someone at the chip shop say ‘ooh, your thing is gone!’ So I’m just looking forward to showing her my new face,” Olivia said.
As Dr. Emma checked her neck, she said, “Wow. It’s just great. I look at you and you don’t have your wobbly thing here.
“I know, my little hoe” Olivia laughed. “Honestly, I feel like people are actually looking at me and talking to me, instead of looking at my neck,” she continued.
Dr. Emma points out that the scar is barely visible from certain angles, but is also curious about the practical benefits of having the keloid removed.
‘Oh yes! My lanyard, it doesn’t catch, it just slides on…seat belts…even like a bag, I can wear it on this side. Before, I could never carry a bag this way. I’m so happy about all these things,” Olivia replied.
It was clear what a major impact Olivia’s surgery had had on her self-confidence and positive outlook on life.
‘I feel so beautiful… now that it’s gone, my life is literally changing. I feel so much more confident, I’m not conscious when I take pictures or even when I walk around.
“I don’t really try to cover my face anymore. I feel so beautiful. My life is great now. I feel great, very confident, very happy. I’m just excited about the future.”
In the new series of The Bad Skin Clinic, Dr Emma and her team face some of the most challenging cases of her career to date, as she helps people with nowhere to turn.
‘When a skin disease affects the face it can be devastating. Not only physically, but also emotionally and socially. And that’s where I come in,” she explained.
The Bad Skin Clinic airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on Real and can be streamed on Discovery+.