My Experience

I had a terrible taste in my mouth — the worst taste I had ever experienced – and it lasted for several days. I then got blisters in my mouth that wouldn’t go away. I went to an oral surgeon who considered a diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris, an autoimmune disease that causes blistering of the skin and the mucous membranes. To confirm that suspicion, he needed to do a biopsy. He also needed to know that the biopsy was for pemphigus, because this required specific handling of the tissue sample after the biopsy (it needs a special growth medium and examination by immunofluorescence).

First he put gel across the lining of my mouth to numb it, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. He then injected the specific area he was going to biopsy – the soft palate, which is the soft part of the roof of your mouth – with Novocain. The injection burned a bit and was uncomfortable but only for a short period of time. I was then left alone for five minutes to let the Novocain work to completely numb the area. With pemphigus, your mouth is sore to begin with, so keeping it open during the procedure is a little harder then normal. Also, it’s a little bit more uncomfortable because of the blisters, which are very fragile; when you touch them with a swab, the top layer immediately comes off (which is a diagnostic feature of this disease). So the oral surgeon has to be particularly gentle because many areas of your mouth are highly sensitive and the slightest touch can cause pain.

I sat in the chair, mouth open, and the oral surgeon put a long metal instrument in my mouth and pulled some tissue off from the soft palate. The Novocain worked and I felt a pulling sensation but no pain. There was some bleeding, and the doctor put a wooden stick with silver nitrate on it and the bleeding stopped. The doctor said I might have some minor discomfort after the Novocain wore off and suggested I take Tylenol.

After five days, I called the oral surgeon for the results. It was positive for the disease.