My friend's husband had a neckseptomy along with removing part of his tongue. They also removed 4 nodes. She asked me the following.


"CAN YOU FIND OUT FOR ME HOW COMMON THE NECKSEPTOMY THING IS? THE DOC MADE IT SOUND LIKE THEY DO THAT IN ALL CASES JUST AS A PRECOTION. ALSO FIND OUT HOW BIG A DEAL IT IS TO REMOVE 4 NODES? IS THAT ALOT? NOT ALO? COMMON? WHAT?
WE WONT KNOW THE RESULTS TIL THE 30TH."

My question.. she was totally suprised they did the neckseptomy, she said she didn't know they were going to, I would have thought the dr would have told her what they were going to be doing....

Thanks again everyone ....

Is that another term for a radical neck dissection or some other surgery? Anyone know?

I googled Neckseptomy, and not one thing was found. I wonder if that is a word that Dr just uses.....

Been a nurse for nigh on many a year and I have never heard that term. I'm thinking she meant neck dissection but she should clear it up with her doc.
Judy U

Kimberly,

I agree with Judy's and Eileen's responses -- it sounds like a neck dissection, but your friend should check back with the doctor to be sure she has the right facts. I had both a partial glossectomy and neck dissection, with the neck surgery done largely as a precaution, because the doctors weren't certain whether the cancer had spread beyond my tongue.

My impression is that 4 nodes is not a lot. I still have my surgeon's writeup from the procedure, and while it doesn't come up to an exact total of nodes, it's clear from his description that there were many more than 4 removed from that area.

I'm surprised that your friend didn't have some idea ahead of time that the neck surgery was possible. My surgeon went through a detailed discussion with me several days before the operation to tell me what they might have to do to be on the cautious side. I don't recall -- is your friend's husband being treated at a major cancer center?

Cathy

Kimberly,

I think that necksectomy, is neck disscection. 4 nodes is not that many nodes at all. I think you have 40-50 nodes in each side of your neck. I am also surprised that this wasn't one of the possible procedures listed on the consent form. Sometimes whether or not that do one depends on the margins and what the cancer looked like as it grew. (diffirentiation) I hope this helps. I hope your friend's recovery goes well. Do they know about radiation yet? Your friends are fortunate they have such a diligent friend to help them out with some of these nagging questions.

Lynn

The term is not listed in "Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary" either?!?! Are you sure your friend went to a real doctor?

I think the problem is my friend has no idea what she is talking about.... She never asks the drs anything and she doesn't seem to hear anything they ever tell her. I bet the dr did tell her all about it, she just blocked it out. I kinda wish I could go with them and take notes when the dr tells them things... I'll give her the info and see if that helps calm her a little. Thanks all...

(I really hope she snaps out of this stage soon. I understand how stressful and scary it must be, but I think this has been going on too long maybe? She is not able to make decisions or help her husband or anythng....)

Cathy (and others) it is a Cancer Hospital, I forget the name. It is in Colimbus Ohio.

Here is what she said about the procedure:

" ... i dont rememeber, I am sure he called it a necksectomy but I dont know cant be sure - they cut from ear to ear to remove 4 nodes. thats what i know.
he participated in a study where they injected him with a radioactive die & then scanned him to see which node beds it draines into - i hope this makes sense thats about all i know! lisa"

I feel like when to people are standing next to each other but won't talk so a 3rd person stands there and relays everything said.....

She also admitted to not really hearing what the dr said and zoning out. She said after the word 'cancer' she just doesn't hear anything else.

Kimberly, I am not a trained medical expert but it seems to me that there are possibly 3 or 4 words that she might have heard and perhaps mixed up or shuffled together.

Neck Dissection or Radical Neck Dissection or some doctors use the word Resection instead of Dissection,
which could result in an ear to ear incision, it is done to allow surgical access to lymph nodes for removal. If they cut ear to ear it seems to me they likely would remove more than 4 nodes. While this surgery sounds bad, (and sometimes looks bad) recovery is usually pretty quick. This is a common procedure in oral cancer treatment.

Glossectomy or Partial Glossectomy,
surgical removal of part or all of the tongue. since it sounds like his cancer was tongue, he may have had a partial glossectomy. The larger the cancer, the greater the portion of tongue might be removed.

Tracheostomy,
Surgery to create a small hole in the throat to allow for breathing if his surgery was more complex. This is usually temporary and will be allowed to heal up.

You can find a lot more information here in the main OCF web site by clicking on the HOME PAGE button at the bottom of this page.

I hope this helps you.

Thanks, Mark. I will se if I can copy some info for her. She is a little more open to getting some info now, but she won't go out and look for it herself yet. I guess that's good, it is progress..

Kimberly,

It sounds like your friend is so overwhelmed that she in not processing the information that the dr is telling her. My parents experience this with my sister. I always go along to add an extra pair of ears. I will take notes while my parents respond to the info that the dr gives. Sometimes they are so emotional that they cannot remember important info. Maybe you could offer to go along to take notes or make suggest that they invite another family member along to take notes.

This was so helpful in my sister's situation. At one point a Petscan was supposed to be scheduled for the next day. They never took her to get the scans though. My mom and dad were dealing with heavy emotional issues and didn't remember that my sister was supposed to get a petscan. If I hadn't looked over the notes and asked about it, there is a chance that she may not have been able to get a scan (b/c of insurance of outpatient care).

My sister also had her nodes removed in her neck and they did make an incision from behind one ear to the other. She did have a trach for about 23 days.

Hi,
I had a modified radical node dissection they took out 28 nodes. It left a lot of scarring but it is commonly done to check if nodes are cancerous. I'm glad I had it done, the nodes were clear. If they weren't clear I would have had radiation and or chemo and at least known of the cancer. A must!