| | Joined: Nov 2010 Posts: 128 Senior Member (100+ posts) | OP  Senior Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Nov 2010 Posts: 128 | hello again, well the ENT surgeon seems to think that the swelling and redness is in fact an infection, so he put my dad on an antibiotic.. he said it wouldnt be cancer because it wouldnt have swelled up that much in such a short period of time.. his main concern was making sure that we got the infection before it reached the titanium which my dad has from ear to ear.. has anyone had any experiences with infections after this surgery? thanks again!
nicki
Dad-55 yrs..2/2010-DX/March 2010-Induction Chemo/35Rads 7weeks concurrent with chemo once every 3weeks/6/2010-Treatments completed-October 2010-Recurrence/December 2010-salvage surgery/clear Margins/July 2011-recurrence/weekly Erbitux treatments-5/30/12, last erbitux..
Painfree and rested 6/19/12
| | | | | Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,507 Likes: 7 Administrator, Director of Patient Support Services Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Administrator, Director of Patient Support Services Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,507 Likes: 7 | Wishing your father well. Sorry but I was kept in a medically induced coma for 3 weeks after my big surgery. I had no idea about the failure of the titamium jawbone and the problems with the free flap. So there could have been an infection but I was asleep so Im not really sure about all the details about what happened. Hope he feels better soon.
ChristineSCC 6/15/07 L chk & by L molar both Stag I, age44 2x cispltn-35 IMRT end 9/27/07 -65 lbs in 2 mo, no caregvr Clear PET 1/08 4/4/08 recur L chk Stag I surg 4/16/08 clr marg 215 HBO dives 3/09 teeth out, trismus 7/2/09 recur, Stg IV 8/24/09 trach, ND, mandiblctmy 3wks medicly inducd coma 2 mo xtended hospital stay, ICU & burn unit PICC line IV antibx 8 mo 10/4/10, 2/14/11 reconst surg OC 3x in 3 years very happy to be alive  | | | | | Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 701 Likes: 1 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 701 Likes: 1 | Hi, Nicki,
My husband had a low grade infection around 2 screws in the titanium plate that lasted for 2 years. The screws eventually came out on their own. Two weeks after completing rads, he got an infection in his parotid gland that got out of control. His whole face was swollen and unrecognizable. It happened over a few hours! He had surgery, antibiotics and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The best thing I can tell you is to stay vigilant. If something doesn't look, smell, or feel right, call the doctor. We were in the Head and Neck surgeon's office so many times with infections, loose screws, and fistulas. If you get seen early in the process, the infection is easier to deal with. You don't want to ever ignore an infection as they can are harder to treat when the get out of control.
All my best-
Anita
Anita (68)
CG to husband, Clark, 79,
DX SCC 11/07, T4N0Mx, PEG 1/08, RAD, post rad infection 3/08,
HBOT 40 dives, ORN, Surg 11/09 mandibulectomy w/fibular graft.
Plastic Surg 4/10, 12/10, 3/11, 10/11, 4/12, 10/12. All PETS clear,
PEG out 1/11. 6/11 non union jaw fracture
Fractured jaw w/surgery 7/14
Aspiration pneumonia 7/21, 10/22
PEG 7/21
Botox injections
| | | | | Joined: Nov 2010 Posts: 128 Senior Member (100+ posts) | | OP Senior Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Nov 2010 Posts: 128 | hello,
well he started the antibiotic on wednesday.. today, the swelling seems a little better, and the redness is gone, but he is still swelled up.. the ENT did say that the plate itself could get infected and that is just bad news, so hopefully that does not happen and that is not the case.. we keep a close eye on him, and like Anita said, if anything looks, or smells not right we are down at Rush seeing the doctor.. as you know, timing is everything in these situations..
thank you again!
nicki
Dad-55 yrs..2/2010-DX/March 2010-Induction Chemo/35Rads 7weeks concurrent with chemo once every 3weeks/6/2010-Treatments completed-October 2010-Recurrence/December 2010-salvage surgery/clear Margins/July 2011-recurrence/weekly Erbitux treatments-5/30/12, last erbitux..
Painfree and rested 6/19/12
| | | | | Joined: Nov 2010 Posts: 128 Senior Member (100+ posts) | | OP Senior Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Nov 2010 Posts: 128 | hello again, dad's left side of his face seems to have gone down a lot but the right side, not as much.. now how would one know if they were allergic to the titanium plate?
anita, how did you know that the screws fell out? did this affect your husband's progress?
Dad-55 yrs..2/2010-DX/March 2010-Induction Chemo/35Rads 7weeks concurrent with chemo once every 3weeks/6/2010-Treatments completed-October 2010-Recurrence/December 2010-salvage surgery/clear Margins/July 2011-recurrence/weekly Erbitux treatments-5/30/12, last erbitux..
Painfree and rested 6/19/12
| | |
| Forums23 Topics18,168 Posts196,925 Members13,103 | | Most Online458
Jan 16th, 2020 | | |
|
