Hi Cancer4:

I see you are posting from Boston-so I am I...

My partner Dave just had a modified radical neck dissection with removal of lymph nodes last Monday at Mass Eye & Ear. He also had a graft from his forearm to his palate. The enitire surgery took over 13 hours and he looks great post-op.

He is not having much pain from the incisions and is well ahead of schedule as far as post-op progress. My take based on the number of people we have talked to who have had neck dissections is that the surgery is far less tedious and hard to deal with than the side effects of radiation therapy.

Most people who have a neck dissection are told they can spend 7-10 days in the hospital but most I know that are motivated seem to be discharged well before if there are no complications.

The key to a good result is also the skill of the surgeon. There are some questions to ask about surgical approach and location of the suture lines so you can get a good cosmetic result. Most the people I have seen with neck dissections look very good and the scars are barely noticeable. If the surgeon is planning on removing a portion of the muscle that helps hold up your neck, there may be mild asymmetry but the other side usually compensates. There are also exercises that can be done to prevent "stiffness" of the suture line and promote healing.

Ideally, you should go to a place where they do neck dissections routinely. For example, at Mass Eye & Ear, there is a head and neck cancer division and they do several of these per week.

Where are you going for treatment? Since you are closeby, maybe you would like to talk to Dave too?
My e-mail is [email protected].

Keep us posted,

Kim