Hi,

My name is Jeff and I recently had a partial glossectomy about 1 week ago. My Dr. removed a large (but thin) portion from the underside and then folded the tongue back underneath to close the defect, and stitched it all back up. I am not sure of the percentage that was removed, but my guess would be about 10% or so. The stitches run from the tip of the tongue along the underside all the way down to the base of the tongue where it meets the floor of the mouth.

My doctor called today to check up on me and filled me in on a few things. One thing that he told me was that the pathology showed "moderate dysplasia" in some of the portions that were removed, and "severe dysplasia" in one sample. I mentioned to him that I had read where some doctors consider severe dysplasia to be the same thing as carcinoma-in-situ, and he said that was true, but that it didn't matter because either way he got it out and there were clear margins around the removed sample. So, my first question is whether or not CIS is the same thing as severe dysplasia for oral/tongue pathologies.

Also, everything is progressing nicely with the exception of my speech. My tongue is still very numb in a large portion of it and I have good speech with the exception of a few sounds like "S"s, where the tongue is a big part of the sound. How long should it take before I see improvement in the numbness, or in my ability to say S's? I am no better now than I was right after the surgery.

Thanks!

Welcome to OCF! You are one of the luckiest people to join our family without going thru the horrors of having OC or being a caregiver. The link at the end of this post is about pre-malignant lesions. That should be helpful to you in reading more about dysplasia. Im sorry but our group is made up of patients and caregivers, our members do not have medical backgrounds or training so we may not be able to help you with dissecting the medical terms your physician used.

Something we all learn here is every patient is unique and will respond in their own individual manner. That said, its not easy to say how long it will be for your recovery. As an OC survivor without a medical background, Im not qualified to know how long it will be for your recovery. I do not have years of medical school, clinical and patient experience, or the ability to see the full medical history and examine the patient. Take 2 patients who on paper look very similar as they are the same age, sex, diagnosis, the same height, weight and from the same local area. Those 2 patients can even have the same physician but the 2 patients will be polar opposites as far as how they respond to surgery, anesthesia, recovery, medications, etc. After surgery, inflammation and numbness can last for weeks maybe even months. A few over the years have unfortunately reported permanent numbness but thats usually the patients who have a more complex surgery. Your surgery was only a week ago. You still will have several more weeks to go before the swelling goes down and you know what you are dealing with. For oral cancer (OC) patients, getting a speech pathologist involved to help them learn how to control their newly reshaped tongue usually is a huge help, Im sure this would help you as well.

Main OCF site --- Premalignant conditions

Jeff -

Restating what Christine said above about each recovery is individualized. But I'll add my experiences just as information for you to consider. First diagnosis with partial glossectomy - approximately 25% of total tongue volume ranging from just behind the tip extending along the right side of my tongue towards the rear of my mouth. Speech returned to almost 100% of pre-surgical range. (Same, vary minor issue of dragging a T or slight slurring of S's when tired) six to eight weeks after completing radiation and chemo treatments.)

Rather than wait and see. Be proactive and set up an appointment with a speech therapist to generate a baseline. They may be able to provide some exorcises to strengthen your tongue.


Good Luck