My daughter had 1/4 of her tongue removed and a neck dissection ten days ago. She is still on clear liquids and is to continue them for 12 more days. She had the feeding tube removed 1 week after her surgery on February 18. It seems like this is a long time to just be on clear liquids, she is now 9 days post surgery. Just wondered how long after surgery before most of you could eat soft foods?

Welcome to OCF, Chock!

Here is a list of Easy to Eat Foods. Most of these have a smoother texture and should be fairly mild with their seasonings.

She may need a barium swallow test to ensure its safe for her to begin eating. When a patient does not eat for a while, the muscles they use to swallow can quickly "forget" how to work properly. Food and liquids can end up in the lungs instead of the stomach causing bigger issues. This is usually more common with radiation patients but this can still happen with those that have had surgery as well.

Recovery can be a long road. Wishing your daughter all the best with her recovery.

Day 8 for me they gave me an omelet, mashed veggies, and soup. 20 days after surgery I was in mexico chowing down on the buffet at the resort ( I am a vegetarian so no meat - it's hard to eat anyway) I could eat pretty much everything I wanted. I had 1/3 - 1/2 of my tongue removed. Where the heck is she being treated? The only concern the first few weeks is damaging the new area, and stitches and the swelling (since there is usually no sensation so you can't really tell if you are biting your new tongue). However if she sticks to soft stuff and chews on her good side she should be okay. Lots of water and thickened stuff - milk - juices help wash it down. I would recommend swishing with water after each mouthful cleans out any particles. And then cleaning and rinsing thoroughly after each meal (I still do) her teeth with thank her.

call the dr. this is overkill. She should at least be on thickened fluids - blended soups yogurts etc... One cannot survive on thin fluids alone. Plus if she is facing radiation ( I read your other post and think she should be ) she will need to bulk up.

Hugs.