hi my dad had his big surgery on december 7 there are days that he looks absolutely great considering the surgery he had but a few days here and there he really looks swelled up.. has anyone experienced this?

thank you!

It will take up to a year before the swelling is completely gone. Do not worry, recovery from this drastic surgery takes a long time. It will be two steps forward and one step back for the next few months. Gradually the good days will be more than the bad ones. If your father is uncomfortable then ask the doc about this. The doc will know what is normal for your father and be able to visually assess him.

It took me aprox 4 months before the swelling had mostly disappeared. I know we are all different, but from what you have describe previously, your father is doing wonderfully.

once again thank you so much Christine! he has an appt on the 9th of february at that time i will talk to the ENT about the swelling.. he goes once a month and last month the ENT said he was doing great... so we shall see.. but the headache does worry me a little bit..
thank you again!
nicki

Your welcome. From your description, it doesnt sound like your fathers swelling is unusual. It takes a very long time to heal after a mandibulectomy. Its very good you can recognize what doesnt look right. If ever see the swelling is restricting his air intake then take him to the ER. If you are uneasy about waiting til the 9th call and get his appointment changed. Your father is lucky to have such a great daughter looking out for him!

hi, a few days ago he almost looked himself, but yesterday and today his face is definitely more swollen.. we watch him very closely! haha.. he knows it.. he is the same way too.. i really appreciate your input.. im sorry we met on here though.. how are you doing? i see your surgery was october 4, so that is not that long ago either..

Nicki, I had the same thing happen to me. I would look ok one day and the next it would be worse then back down again. It took forever til the swelling really went away. It just takes time and patience. Im sure nobody wants this to be over more than your father. A cold compress might help the swelling too. It could be since he isnt taking the pain meds so much that he is swelling more. It could have helped with his inflammation.

I am doing alright. My original mandibulectomy was Aug 2009. The Oct surgery was for reconstruction. It was a piece of cake compared to the 2009 surgery with the never ending hospitalization. Im getting ready to have one more quick out patient procedure to tweak my neck. If I am able to avoid it, I dont want to ever have another big operation again.

Im not sorry for meeting anyone here. OCF has helped me in so many ways including meeting the most amazing people. I feel close to people who have undergone similar treatments as I have. Those are the ones who really do get it. Only if you have had cancer yourself or seen it first handed in your immediate family can you really understand other cancer survivors.

We do have a facebook list if you would like to be a part of that let me know. Its nice to get to see a picture to go with the name. If you would like to be added, write a post under the FB topic in the friends tab and I will add you.

Christine, very well said as always my dear...you are amazing

Christine, thank you again.. you are simply an amazing person.. i agree 1,000% that unless you are the person with cancer or an immediately family one could not even imagine what this is like.. i would love to be added, how do i find you?

well the nurse was just over to check dads blood levels, and she did call the ENT about the swelling.. the ENT said to bring him tomorrow instead of the 9th of February.. his face is swollen and red..

ahh swollen and red...well seeing Ron his skin tone has always showed red sometime or another before this so I really never noticed it. Swelling though, he still gets now when he wakes up, he looks like shit(don't tell him i said that! lol)cuz of the lymphnodes being gone the fluids go to the side(s) he is laying on and swells up his face. His neck he still has the turkey thing going on with the flabby extra skin, but when he is up for awhile he starts going back to looking like skinny Ron. lol he is though finally eating much more than he could before so maybe in time he won't be sooooo skinny even though he always was BUT he had muscle to go with that skinny butt he had before! lol Good luck to your dad and I love the part in your signature bout his flap from his six pack in stomach! I can't wait for Ron to have a belly again!

haha i wont tell him, i promise! i did see my dad about 6 days ago, and then i got a bad cold, so i stayed away until yesterday.. 6 days ago he looked great! yesterday he was swollen again.. ugh.. it does make sense about the lymphnodes and the fluid though.. we will have to ask the ENT tomorrow.. and i am sure that the ENT will once again tell us how big this surgery was and how things can go wrong.. hopefully just by the ENT looking at him, he will say if this is normal or not..