Thanks so much Mel, for sharing all this! Your "before" photos don't make it look as remarkable as it sounded, the way you said your Mom & other people were carrying on about "the thing on your face"... but it
could have been something really BAD, as
malignancies don't have to look ugly to BE ugly! My Hubby had a small spot of Melanoma removed from the very tip of his nose a few years ago, & it didn't look a lot different than your "thing". Now, if you know to look closely, you can see a shiny flat place right where the tip of his nose used to be! (The Dr. put a "spot" bandaid on it, which he had to wear for a whole week... right before Halloween! He dressed up like a clown/put a RED bandaid on it, when we went to the neighborhood bar, so nobody would look at him funny or ask questions!)

He's had several Melanoma spots taken off his back & arms, & must see the Dermatologist every year, as he's prone to this type of skin Cancer... which is a trait that he inherited from his Mom & has also been handed down to our kids.
We'll want to see after-the-"after" pic later on, to see if you still look like there's a "thing on your face"! So far, it looks like they did a pretty nice job sewing you up!

Glad you had it taken care of!