I need some advice about what to expect after a partial glossectomy.

In July 2002 I had a lesion on my lateral tongue removed (carcinoma in situ).
In May 2003 I had another small lesion removed in the same spot (carcinoma in situ).
My ENT/head and neck surgeon has recommended surgery to remove a larger area. He wants to remove the top layers (1-2mm I think) over a large area of my tongue. While he called it a partial glossectomy it is different from what I have read here on the Board where some of you have had 50, 60% or more of your tongue removed. It is my understanding that he is not going to remove any part of my tongue except the top layers. He is not going to use a laser and he also told me that he would not use stitches. He would leave it as an open would which would eventually form a 'scab' and heal over. For my past two surgeries I had stitches.

Here are my questions and I would appreciate any feedback:

1. for those of you who have had partial glossectomies, how soon after were you able to speak and how clear was your speech? I teach and need to figure out how much time I will need to book off work.

2. what are the advantages and disadvantages of having your tonsils removed? I have discomfort in my throat which my doctor thinks may be caused by debris (ie. skin that has sloughed off) getting stuck in my tonsil. He removed some debris from my tonsil last week and said that if my throat improves than it would be a good idea to remove the tonsils. I asked whether it would make sense to remove the tonsil as a preventative strategy (can tongue cancer spread to tonsil cancer?) but he said that it would not make sense to remove the tonsils as a preventative strategy against getting tonsil cancer. He only wants to remove the tonsils if I find that my throat discomfort improves since he removed the debris from my tonsil.

I am a 31 year old female (non-smoker, non-drinker). Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks,
Sandra