So I'm about 9 months out from my 60% glossectomy, and am still looking at the flap the doc put in as being about twice as big as what from my perspective it needs to be. I know recovery is at least a year for this surgery, but the flap really hasn't shrunk much at all in the last few months and I don't see it shrinking by 50% in the next few months either. Right now it just looks like an elephant that my remaining tongue is dragging around on it's back - I don't see why the combined old tongue/flap can't have a cross-section that is a little closer to a single healthy tongue.

If the flap were smaller, I'm certain I'd have at least a fighting chance of learning how to eat semi-solid food again, but with the size of it being what it is, eating is just not possible, I can't get the food around/over the flap. It also affects my speech of course; I don't expect to sound how I did before surgery, but at least I wouldn't sound so much like I have 8 cotton balls in my mouth.

So, has anyone had flap material removed? Was it difficult? Are there risks, like could it (removal) make things worse? Did things improve once healed? Is it too early to ask my doc?

Thanks.