Six weeks ago I finished 41 radiation and 7 Chemo sessions to treat a base of the tongue cancer with lymph nodes involvement. The treatment went as expected and I'm still recovering. I'm not able to eat or drinks normally, but I have the peg tube. Yesterday I had a CT Scan and the results are good, there is nothing that looks abnormal. However my doctors want to perform a modified radical neck dissection, jut in case there is still some cell lingering there. Now my question, how much will this set me back in my recovery, what are the permanent side effects of this surgery, what is the recovery time like.??? I've read different opinions, some people say its grueling, that they live in constant pain and are at the mercy of pain killers for life. Please if you have gone through this let me know. Please help me take decide weather to have the operation or not.

Thanks

My mother had a modified radical neck and a peg tube put in the same day. She was 78 at the time. This was done pre-radiation/chemo so that probably makes a big difference as far as healing. She was only in the hospital overnight. The neck surgery and peg tube were a breeze for her compared to the radiation and surgery she went through later.

Good luck and best wishes for a quick recovery.

I had bilateral neck resection in sept......follow up surgery in March, and I only take pain meds at night...........radiation to me was worse by far than surgery

Cancer4,

I had a radical neck last October before radiation. Was in hospital for two days and out. The nerve reaction to the surgery is the most annoying part I believe. Have to use the term annoying because I'm thankful the nerves are coming back. After surgery the things the doctors looked at most were the fact I could still raise my arm and the side of my face didn't droop. Sound scary, I guess it is, but I had a couple of very good surgeons.
There is pain involved as with any surgery but nothing I couldn't handle. Still I can't lay on my side or hold a phone to that ear. (although the phone thing is getting better) I have lost feeling in my earlobe totally.

For me I don't consider any of these things major, just annoying. That I can live with.

Hope this helps, any specific questions please ask?

Take care,
Dinah

Hi Cancer4:

I see you are posting from Boston-so I am I...

My partner Dave just had a modified radical neck dissection with removal of lymph nodes last Monday at Mass Eye & Ear. He also had a graft from his forearm to his palate. The enitire surgery took over 13 hours and he looks great post-op.

He is not having much pain from the incisions and is well ahead of schedule as far as post-op progress. My take based on the number of people we have talked to who have had neck dissections is that the surgery is far less tedious and hard to deal with than the side effects of radiation therapy.

Most people who have a neck dissection are told they can spend 7-10 days in the hospital but most I know that are motivated seem to be discharged well before if there are no complications.

The key to a good result is also the skill of the surgeon. There are some questions to ask about surgical approach and location of the suture lines so you can get a good cosmetic result. Most the people I have seen with neck dissections look very good and the scars are barely noticeable. If the surgeon is planning on removing a portion of the muscle that helps hold up your neck, there may be mild asymmetry but the other side usually compensates. There are also exercises that can be done to prevent "stiffness" of the suture line and promote healing.

Ideally, you should go to a place where they do neck dissections routinely. For example, at Mass Eye & Ear, there is a head and neck cancer division and they do several of these per week.

Where are you going for treatment? Since you are closeby, maybe you would like to talk to Dave too?
My e-mail is [email protected].

Keep us posted,

Kim