Mohs surgery for squamous cell in ear - extremely dry skin afterwards.

Larry449

I’ve had several (4) squamous cell skin cancers removed over the past +/-20 years. The most recent was in my left ear so it required Mohs and subsequent small skin graft. Surgery went well, margins clear on the first pass. Stitches for donor site and bolster were removed in one week. Roughly 3 weeks of twice daily cleaning and covering. Follow up with the surgeon one month after the surgery, the surgeon said the graft had healed and I could go about my normal routine. When she said I was good to go, I asked her about the bad itching, not directly at the site of the procedure but around the rest of my ear - lobe, up the helix and anti helix and behind. I asked her if I could use something like cortisone 10 but she was adamant about not using creams. She suggested taking “extra strength” ibuprofen and if it was still bothering me to call her on Monday (this was on Thursday, so 4 days.) now, on Sunday, the itching while still there, is not quite as bad but my entire ear is bone dry and scaly looking! I don’t believe everything Dr. Google says, but it looks like pictures I’m finding of generalized exfoliative dermatitis. I’m just a bit worried about it. I’m definitely going to call her in the morning but in the meantime - my imagination is running rampant!
(OTC extra strength ibuprofen doesn’t exist so I’ve been taking two caps of 200mg 3 times a day)