Having surgery on lower lip

[gbdeamer]

I figured I'd be the canary in a coal mine for the collective here and keep you all in the loop about an upcoming surgery on my lower lip, and HOPEFULLY a quick recovery.

For background, I noticed a small blemish/sore (that didn't hurt) on my lower lip in late January/early February. It was located just outside where my mouthpiece sits, so I largely ignored it. I was generally practicing about an hour a day, and I was playing once a week or so in a college pep band, and going to weekly rehearsals for a wind symphony.

When the sore started to get bigger (still no pain or impact to playing) I went to a Dermatologist. They determined that I had a non-cancerous pyogenic granuloma. It was just small enough that they could attempt to address it with a laser, so they tried that. I took 2 days off from playing, and while the lip was a bit tender, I resumed playing.

The granuloma shook off the laser treatment and doubled in size, so i went back to the Dermatologist. They advised that I could try drops/medicine to shrink/kill it, or have a plastic surgeon remove it. I went for the less invasive option of drops, but the granuloma used them as fertilizer and doubled in size again. At this point it would start bleeding (a lot) when I played, so I had to back out of my Easter gig and stop playing so i wouldn't do serious damage.

I met with a plastic surgeon on Wednesday (yesterday) and he scheduled surgery for this coming Monday. The Dr is a patron of the arts, so we had a very long discussion about the surgery and my concerns about potential permanent/negative impacts on my playing. He said that his procedure would not cut into the muscle, and he basically cuts around the granuloma, digs it out, and closes up. He said I should stop playing for 1 week (until Monday the 15th), and then work back into it.

There's a concert with the wind symphony scheduled for May 19th, so that gives me a month to get back to performance shape. The music isn't crazy, but not 'easy' by any means, so I'm obviously a little anxious.

Just sharing this in case anyone else runs into something similar in the future.

Wish me luck...
_________________
1987 Bach Strad 37
2005 Bach Strad 43*
ACB Doubler's Flugel
1948 Holton Model 48

[Bethmike]

Wishing you the best outcome!

Mike
_________________
Bach190ML43
Kanstul 1001
Bach NY7
Yamaha 631 Flugel

[Quadstriker]

[JoshMizruchi]

When I was in high school, I went through a similar thing, although on the inside of my lower lip, not the outside. Like you, I went to a dermatologist and then a doctor, who diagnosed my mouth sore as “leukoplakia” (if I recall correctly) and suggested surgery. He did a biopsy and didn’t find anything, but said it could potentially become infected if I didn’t do anything about it. I went through with the surgery. They stitched up my lower lip and I was instructed not to play for two weeks until it healed, which I obeyed. After it healed over, everything felt the same, but it left a small scar. I returned to playing and actually started getting stronger. I was actually getting better playing wise before it happened, and had it removed for health reasons. When I came back, I just picked up where I left off.

Looking back, I am happy everything worked out, but I am not convinced that the surgery was necessary. One thing you have to remember is that if you develop a problem because of bad technique or teaching, correct technique will fix it.

If the problem came from incorrect trumpet technique, surgery is probably not necessary. However, if it’s a granuloma, that could be a medical and not trumpet playing issue. The problem is, I’m not a doctor, so I can’t recommend a treatment for that.

Can you get a second or third opinion before you go through with surgery?
_________________
Josh Mizruchi
http://www.joshmizruchi.com

[Rhondo]

Agree with getting a 2nd or 3rd opinion unless you absolutely trust the doctor.

Also what Quadstriker said.

[gbdeamer]

[gbdeamer]

[gbdeamer]

[mattdalton]

Best wishes for a fantastic surgical outcome!
_________________
Matt Dalton

[JoshMizruchi]

[Doug Elliott]

Plastic surgeons know exactly how to deal with stuff like that without scarring.
Take as much time off as you need to.
There are ways that I modify mouthpiece rims to keep pressure off of an injury or lump... let me know if you need anything like that as a temorary solution while it heals.

[gbdeamer]

[quote="JoshMizruchi"]

[gbdeamer]

[gbdeamer]

First update.

Had surgery this morning and the Dr said it went very well. The granuloma had grown a bit, but nothing he didn't anticipate. Local anesthesia worked, so I didn't feel anything other than pushing and pulling.

Since the cutting/sewing was on the lip there's no bandaging...which feels a little weird. It's great to see the growth gone, but staring at Frenkensteins mouth in the mirror is a bit off putting.

I'm icing my face and only taking ibuprofen, but holy crap does it hurt! Talking, wiggling nose, drinking, etc, etc ALL hurt. Dr said that swelling should peak after 48 hours, so rest during that time is important.

Here's a picture from a few minutes after surgery for anyone interested.

https://i.imgur.com/uEiiCaP.jpeg
_________________
1987 Bach Strad 37
2005 Bach Strad 43*
ACB Doubler's Flugel
1948 Holton Model 48

[gbdeamer]

Second update.

It's been four days since the surgery. Pain/swelling were the worst on Day 2 (Wednesday). My Dr didn't prescribe pain med's, so I've been using Ibuprofen and it's been sufficient...but I have a high tolerance for pain, so other people may want to discuss with their Dr.

From across a room it just looks like I have a fat lip, so I think things are progressing as they should. The stitches/would still weeps a drop of blood from time to time, and it's still trying to scab, so there's no way I'd even put a mouthpiece to lips. I think if I buzzed at all it would make things very angry very quickly.

My original 'hope' was that I'd be able to some light buzzing again after 1 week (Monday) so if things progress like this that could still be a realistic goal.

[abontrumpet]

[Doug Elliott]

Post some progress pictures!

[gbdeamer]

[mattdalton]

Glad to see good progress for you!
_________________
Matt Dalton

[gbdeamer]