CO2 Laser surgery experiences?

Hello Paige,

I had CO2 surgery about 8 months ago in my groin area. The surgery went remarkably well. At first it's a bit horrific to look at and bandaging in the area is interesting but it gets better. The healing will take some time but once it starts coming together it really is a heaven sent. You'll be fine. Keep it clean. Get creative with bandaging and be patient.

If you have any further questions, please feel free. 

Happy for you!

Hello Paige

It's understandable that you're both excited and terrified about your upcoming surgery. I was too and I'll try to share my experience so maybe you'll be a little less terrified (My first language isn't English, in case something sounds weird).

I had CO2 laser surgery two weeks ago and I think it went really well! Of course the wounds aren't healed yet, but so far the experience has been far better than I expected. I was really scared before the surgery, but I really didn't have any reason to.

The procedure was done by specialists at a clinic in the biggest hospital in my country. I was really sad and scared going in, but there were to nurses who were really nice throughout. The doctor was very professional and efficient in my opinion.

First we talked for a little bit so I could calm down. Then I had to remove my pants and underwear so that they could have a look. I lay on a bed and showed them the ones that hurt the most. The doctor examined the area and decided on three boils that he thought were the worst ones, one located on the inner thigh and two on my butt.

Then he explained that they would remove the skin around the boils with laser, and that the procedure would leave pale scars. After that they used local anaesthetic in the area. To be honest, this hurt a little, but not for long. After the skin was numb, they got to work. I didn't feel anything from the laser, thankfully. They were really careful, and the nurse talked me through the whole thing. They asked me all the time if it hurt, which it didn't.

After that they put on bandages. These were foam bandages with a piece of silicone going all the way around. They told me that these were really expensive, but the most comfortable ones and the best ones to keep the wounds covered. They told me that the healing process would last for about four weeks, and if I felt any sign of infections I should call the doctor. These signs could be an aching pain, puss or a fever. 

This was two weeks ago and the wounds have healed pretty well. They have closed from the inside in a way. I think my wounds were the size of a small grape (?) and now they're much smaller. They're not that "deep" anymore. The one on the inner thigh has healed the most. At first, they were really sore and they hurt. I couldn't really apply any pressure to the area. Now, after two weeks they don't hurt as much at all. They're still a little sore, but they're a lot better.

I had to go to the ER one week after the surgery, because I thought one of the wounds had gotten infected. One of the wounds were completely yellow, while the two other wounds were completely red and fine. Turns out it wasn't infected, even though it was really yellow. It was just healing... The doctor in the ER still decided to scrape all three wounds with some kind of spoon. This was more painful than anything else in this process. My muscles were sore for days after this, because I was so tense after the scraping. So you want to avoid that. They put some kind of bandage inside the wounds, with real silver in it to keep the wounds from getting infected. I googled that bandage and it's reeeeeally expensive, but thankfully that's covered so I didn't have to pay more than about 34 pounds/46 pounds.

The procedure at the hospital cost about 34 pounds/46 dollars. The bandages however, will cost about 500 pounds/700 dollars. This is for three bandages per day for four weeks. They're really expensive, but they're the only ones that work for me. They're called Mepilex Border Lite, you should really try them out unless you doctor recommends something else. 

I hope I covered most of the experience. Please ask me anything if there's something you're wondering about. I hope you have someone to talk to about this, that you really trust. It made it easier for me.

Good luck!