Man discovers what lump on head is 30 years after being hit by cricket ball
Nobody wants to be hit in the head with a cricket ball, but one man found his painful accident had lasting consequences.
You might think it would cause a minor bump on the head and some bruising, and that it would go away within 24-48 hours.
Well, a man named Clyde found himself with a seemingly permanent reminder of the unhappy incident, and more than three decades after he was struck there was a giant lump on his forehead.
Clyde appeared on the second episode of The Bad Skin Clinic, where the 58-year-old attended with his wife Caroline.
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The concerned couple visited dermatologist Dr Emma Craythorne, hoping she would be able to provide an answer as to what had caused his unusual condition.
Clyde explained to Dr Craythorne what had happened to cause the mysterious bump, which he understatedly called 'unusual'.
It turns out that the giant lump appeared two years after Clyde was hit with a cricket ball, so he has never been sure if the blow was really to blame.
In his desperation to be free of the pesky lump, he even flew to Turkey to try and have it surgically removed there.
Unfortunately it did not go as planned, and doctors were unable to remove it, and infuriatingly for Clyde they actually made things worse.
"I came home with a scar and a lump," Clyde said.
His wife Caroline said Clyde had the lump for as long as she had known him, but said it was in recent years he became 'more conscious' of it.
Fortunately for Clyde and Caroline, Dr Craythorne had an answer.
"So, undoubtedly this is a lipoma. 'Lipo' means fat and 'oma' is a benign tumour," she explained. "The only way to get rid of this is to have it surgically removed."
The NHS describes lipomas as 'soft, fatty lumps that grow under your skin'.
They are usually 'harmless' and don't require treatment, but it is always recommended to get any weird lumps and bumps checked out by a professional.
The dermatologist explained the failed surgery in Turkey would make things tricky, and she would need to make a vertical incision into the lump to 'pop' it out.
She warned it would be much 'more complicated' because of the previous attempts, but she hoped to be able to 'ease out' the lipoma from an incision.
She made the incision, before applying gentle pressure to either side of the wound.
She realised she missed a bit hidden behind some scar tissue, which required her surgical tools to remove.
A beaming Clyde was then shown the results of her efforts, with him saying: "Oh my God! I’m speechless… It’s round!"
The dermatologist praised: "You’ve got a great shape of a skull."
Such sweet nothings!
Clyde said his wife was going to see a whole new man, joking: "Caroline isn’t going to recognise me. It’s going to totally change the way I feel about myself."
"Dr Emma certainly works her magic, doesn’t she?" and said he felt like 'a million dollars'.
An elated Caroline exclaimed: "Oh my God, you look so different! Your face, you look so happy!"
Who can blame Clyde for saying he was going to spend the evening 'taking a few selfies' and staring 'in the mirror' while admiring his new lump-free visage.
You go, Clyde!
Jen Thomas