Hi,

Like everyone has said, most likely the swelling is normal and will go away eventually. However, in my daughter's case, it was an infection. 2 months after her modified radical neck dissection and 3 days into her radiation treatments, she noticed a lumpy swelling under her chin, on either side of her nicely healed incision. It was Friday and we figured we'd mention it Monday morning to the Dr.

Sunday night, it started to ooze pus (sorry, I know it is gross). All-in-all, more than a tablespoon of pus came out. Some was tinged with blood. And it left an open hole in the incision. Evidently, she had an infection brewing and the RAD must have accelerated it. The docs aren't sure what happened, but they surmise that a small amount of saliva must have leaked from the bottom of her mouth into the neck cavity before the incision on the bottom of her mouth had healed. She is being treated with antibiotics, but she had to postpone RAD and will most likely have to start all over.

As to the trismus issue, she got a Therabite appliance and IT DOES WORK! Fortunately her insurance covered it - most don't and it costs $375. And she doesn't even do it as often as recommended. She can tell, though, if she skips a couple days. Her mouth tightens up again, but a few days of using it gets it loosened up. Supposedly, they only charge drs. $275, so I would suggest asking your dr to order it.

Rosemary