My mom had surgery on Tuesday for resection of tumor in her gums, jaw and tongue. After the surgery the doctor told me the tumor was much larger than they expected and that they had to remove 40% of the base of the tongue. She came out of surgery with a humongous flap in her mouth. I looked at it and the skin flap is stitched to the tongue. There is very little actual tongue left and the flap is so gigantic that it sticks out of my mom's mouth. Is this normal? I'm worried she will never be able to eat or speak again. The doctors was to send her home with a g-tube and whenever I ask questions about her ability to speak, I get a vague response. Usually they say that eventually, when she heals, she can start speech therapy. The doctors never give a timeline. Is this typical?