While my attitude during the actual tongue surgery and neck dissection will be "Wake me when it's over", I want to start swallowing therapy asap. I snagged a quick meeting with a speech therapist at the hospital for tomorrow by calling the head of the department but wanted to check with this board for real life knowledge. If I have to finally get a PEG, then I want it out asap also. So when did swallowing therapy start?
I used the search function and did not come up with anything for FEESST (flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing with Sensory Testing) or for VFSS (videoflurograhic swallowing study)
It looks like both of these tests can provide real time feedback on the effectiveneess of compensatory maneuvers (like Head Turn, Chin Tuck, Effortful Swallow, Shaker exercise, Supraglottic Swallow & Mendelsohn Maneuver)
Did anybody here have these tests done?
Any and all comments on swallowing and eating again quickly after surgery? I may be overly optimistic but since I already had my 7200 GY of radiation and my mouth turned to hamburger and mucous - I will not have that as a complicating factor. My tissues had returned to normal (except for the cancer cells coming back of course).