A mum has slammed the NHS for refusing to remove for free a giant ‘throbbing’ keloid that appeared on her ear after an industrial piercing – as it’s ‘only cosmetic’. Ashlie-Skye Wood first noticed a small lump appear on her left ear in May 2022 after she had an industrial piercing inserted for her Christmas present in 2020.
At first, the 21-year-old claims the mass was smaller than a garden pea but after growing to the size of a 10-pence piece in six months she booked a GP appointment. The mum-of-one says she was prescribed scar treatment cream but when this failed to reduce the size of the lump she requested to have it removed on the NHS.
Sadly, Ashlie-Skye claims the NHS refused to remove it for free as it was classed as a ‘cosmetic’ procedure and would have to fork out £2,350 if she wanted it cut off privately. As a new mum at the time, the cleaner says she couldn’t afford to pay this so was left with no choice but to leave the raised scar growing on her ear.
She now claims the keloid has grown to the size of a £2 coin and says people often point it out or stare at her ear in the streets which makes her feel ‘uncomfortable’. Horrifying photos show Ashlie-Skye’s ‘throbbing’ pink keloid covering most of her left ear.
Despite applying to have it removed twice more on the NHS her requests have not yet been successful. Ashlie-Skye has now set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money to have her keloid removed privately, which she says would be a ‘life changing’ procedure.
NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough said that the NHS have a duty to use public funding in accordance with the relevant clinical policies. They pointed out that the NHS does not generally recommend surgical removal of keloid scars because they are likely to grow back bigger.
Ashlie-Skye, from Littleport in Cambridgeshire, said: “It has annoyed me [that I can’t get it removed on the NHS]. I’ve explained that I hate going out with it and that I try to cover it with my hair or a hat. I’ve said that people stare at it.
“I had an industrial piercing that goes all the way through the top and bottom [of my ear]. I then fell pregnant with my first son at 19 and I developed a small lump. Throughout the pregnancy it got bigger and bigger.
“At first it was really small. It was smaller than a garden pea, it was tiny when it first grew. While I was pregnant with my son it grew and grew and got to the size of a 10 pence piece by December 2022.
The 21-year-old claims the mass was smaller than a garden pea but after growing to the size of a 10-pence piece in six months she booked a GP appointment.
(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
“After my son was born it stopped growing but it stayed that size. When I fell pregnant again this time round [June 2024], I noticed it began to grow again in July and just kept getting bigger. It’s now the size of a £2 coin.
“I went back [to the GP] three months later to tell them it [the prescribed cream] wasn’t working and this was the first time they put in the request to apply for funding to get it removed. This was declined as it was classed as a cosmetic surgery not a necessary surgery.
“I was then told that if I wanted it removed, I was going to have to go private. I went to a private clinic which gave me a quote of £2,350 to get it removed. This is not something I can afford, not with being a young parent and not working a great deal because of childcare too.
“It would be life changing to be able to feel comfortable going out with my hair up. I’m a hairdresser by trade so I miss doing all the hairstyles in my own hair without feeling like people are going to be staring.
Ashlie-Skye Wood, from Cambridgeshire, first noticed a small lump appear on her left ear in May 2022 after she had an industrial piercing inserted for her Christmas present in 2020.
(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
“It would mean I could go out more with my kids and not feel uncomfortable about going out and people staring.” According to the NHS a keloid scar is a raised scar left on the skin after a wound has healed and can grow for months and years.
Ashlie-Skye believes the keloid developed after her body rejected the piercing due to it being too much for her ear to hold. As well as making her self-conscious, the former hairdresser says the keloid often ‘throbs’ and ‘stings’ especially in the cold weather.
She says she dreads having to put her hair up for work as it makes the lump more noticeable and often wears hats to cover it up. Ashlie-Skye said: “It throbs a lot and in the cold it stings.
“It has affected me a lot mentally. I hate going out with my hair up. I have to wear my hair up for my job as I’m a cleaner so I try to put it up in a way that covers my ear.
I have people point it out and people stare and say stuff without speaking to me about it. It’s not a great feeling having people gossip about something that is out of your control.”
Ashlie-Skye applied for funding to have the keloid removed on the NHS a third time but is still waiting to find out if this has been successful. For now, she has set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money so she can have the keloid removed privately.
To donate to Ashlie-Skye’s GoFundMe, follow the link here: https://gofund.me/e81c2dc6
A spokesperson for NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough said: “Whilst it would not be right to comment on individual cases, we do not routinely fund procedures such as keloid scar removal unless there is a clinical need for the procedure, in line with the current evidence base.” NHS England declined to comment.