Hi everyone,
I am a 30 year old male, non smoker,
Its been about a year since my free fibula flap surgery. They found a benign but aggressive tumor (ameloblastoma) in my right lower mandible. Removed a large section of the jaw and replaced it with my fibula. Had a few complications, developed a blood clot and bad infection in the jaw so they had to go back in to clean it out, also developed a hematoma in the leg where they had to go back in to remove alot of tissue. I feel out of place posting here seeing how I keep reading extremely more severe cases then my own. Im just not sure where to go in order to speak with others that have had this surgery. Just wanted to speak with others about if what I am going through is normal. The Docs said im doing great but just want to hear it from someone else.
- I still have swelling on my jaw after a year
- Still limping and unable to walk straight
- My gums are constantly infected trying to grow up and around my prosthesis
- After the surgery I could not extend my toe so I had another surgery to lengthen tendons about 2 months ago that I am still healing from. Has anyone had this?
- Will I ever be able to participate in sports again? I was an avid runner and practiced Brazilian jiu jitsu, will I ever be able to participate in those things again?


Again i realize im speaking with people that have had it alot worse than me, Im sorry if this is the wrong spot to post. thanks for your time.

Welcome to OCF! You are one very fortunate person!!! Its rare we have someone join who has undergone such a major surgery without having cancer. Please dont underestimate what you have been thru! Im sure it was no picnic.

The surgery you had is a huge one!!! The big difference between you and our other members is most of our other members who went thru this surgery have had cancer and been treated with radiation. I never like to compare patients as there is always something different where the comparison doesnt work. When throwing radiation into this equation, its like night and day. Ive had rads myself prior to having the mandibulectomy. Thats probably why I had major complications with mine. Radiation makes healing more difficult and it takes so much longer.

When I was one year post mandibulectomies, I was finally allowed to have reconstructive surgery. My doc insisted on making me wait for at least one year before any substantial reconstruction could be done. For me my swelling was almost totally gone about 6-8 months post surgery. I would definitely ask your doctor why you still have swelling. Over one year since the surgery without having rads, this is a very long time. The limp is understandable. This could be a permanent thing, in time it will become less noticeable. I havent heard about anyone having any major leg issues besides the limp or problems with their leg not healing. As far as sports go in time Im sure you can do this again. I think a big factor is will power. If the athletes who only have one leg are able run marathons then I bet you could too.

As far as the problems with mouth infections, you could have thrush which can be pretty painful and easily cleared up with nystatin. Ask your doc for a prescription to get peridex mouth rinse. You should use this twice a day, every single day and it should help you to avoid infections. I would also invest in a waterpik and use it on its lowest setting. Check this and any other changes first with your doc. You dont need any other problems happening with your mouth.

I hope the info Ive given you helps. I do not have a medical background but I do have first hand experience as Ive lived thru 2 mandibulectomies and somehow survived to still be here to talk about it I also read every single post that comes in and have seen many other patients go thru this operation.

Good luck with everything!!!

Thanks for your reply and kind words, definitely informative. I appreciate it.

Oh wow, it's been almost a year. I'd be going stir crazy. If you wish to get back to enjoying those sports, I'd suggest that you go see a sports physiotherapist, or at least a personal trainer that can help make sure the appropriate muscles are strong enough to support the load that you'll be applying, and take it nice & slow. Especially running, I'd imagine that taking a bone out of your lower leg would introduce all sorts of misalignments that could make you more susceptible to injuries (e.g. the opposite side hip). Go see a professional.

Failing that, I suppose you could consider a switchover to a different sport where there is less impact on the lower leg.