![[Selfie/B&A] 1 year update! Dermatofibroma (histiocytoma) excision + scar healing](https://preview.redd.it/gyosjxuzwauh1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=750e17af1bf203ae57b0e27b34125df8c91f025a)
[Selfie/B&A] 1 year update! Dermatofibroma (histiocytoma) excision + scar healing
I’m officially 1 year out from having 4 dermatofibromas surgically excised by a board-certified plastic surgeon (1 on my arm, 3 on my lower leg), so I wanted to share an update since there’s so little info out there about the excision process.
I had them removed with football-shaped excisions rather than punch removal. The procedure itself was easy and painless. At 3 months, the scars were flat but still pretty pink/dark & almost as noticeable as the DFs had been. I used silicone scar sheets religiously for 9 months, and intermittently for the remainder of the year.
They continued to fade, and at 1 year I’m very happy with the results. 2 scars are basically invisible. One has a very minor "dog ear" where the scar puckers up a bit on the corner. One still has more pigmentation than I’d like, so I may look into laser treatment, but overall I’m much happier with the scars than I was with the DFs.
My surgeon had told me that, because I have very fair skin, the scars would likely be pink at first and eventually fade toward white, and that’s pretty much what happened.
Cost: I was quoted anywhere from ~$1,000 to $3,000+ per DF by different surgeons. Receiving an accurate quote was the most frustrating part of the whole process. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised that my insurance covered the procedure (I believe because the DFs were sent to the pathology lab after removal), and my total out-of-pocket cost was around $150. So if you have the option of using insurance, definitely look into it!
I made a chart showing the healing progression over the full year. Hopefully this helps anyone else considering removal!