Dear everyone,

My partner was diagnosed with an early stage of mouth cancer. The tumour was on his floor of his mouth.

- Radical neck dissetion to remove lymphnodes
- Resection of the tumour on floor of the mouth
- Flap re-construction
- Tracheostomy
- Spend 5 days in Critical CARE Unit in a coma.Heavily sedated.
- Tongue is still swollen after the surgery. Its day 12th today and the tongue is still swollen.
- NG feed tube in situ.

-- Can sleep properly.
- Trachoestomy wound is still open.
- Plan is to have radiotherapy for 6 weeks.


dows anyone know whene the tongue swelling will subside?
Anyone have similiar surgery that can advise.

Welcome to OCF!

After a major surgery inflammation seems to take forever to go down. Being 12 days post surgery, its still early in the recovery process. First, always remember every patient is different and will respond in their own unique way to medication, procedures, etc. Some patients will have the most swelling for about the first week to 10 days with it very gradually subsiding over the next few weeks. Others (like your partner) will take longer to recover.

If your partner is going to have radiation, that usually is scheduled to start approximately 6 weeks after the surgery. By 6 weeks, the majority of swelling will have gone down. Dont be surprised to hear your partner complain about their tongue feeling too big. Ive seen many patients have minor surgical adjustments done months after having their initial tumor removal surgery. Taking a large section of the tongue out and replacing it with transplanted tissue is very involved. There are all kinds of teeny tiny blood vessels to connect to ensure their is adequate blood flow to the new section. Often doctors will make the tongue slightly larger instead of taking a chance on making it too small which would have even bigger problems.

If your partner hasnt already seen a speech therapist to help them learn how to use their new tongue, I would suggest asking the doctor at the treatment facility. This will greatly help your partner to better enunciate words and how to manage food in their mouth.

Best wishes with continued improvements in the recovery phase.