A short time ago, my neck started feeling especially tight and hurting more, including my left ear (Which has been hurting for quite a while). A portion of it started to swell and was turning pink, so I made an appointment with my regular Doc for the next day; by then I had a swelling on the side of my neck as large as a golf ball!

The Doc drained it, using two packages of gauze sponges in the process. She prescribed an anti-biotic (Keflex). At the end of the course, the opening was still suppurating, so we tried a second course, with the same effect.

Some probing on my part revealed a wound track more than an inch deep heading up towards floor of mouth. I checked with a finger, but there were no holes or soft spots (I don't have the forward part of my tongue, so I could check the whole area).

I had been keeping Dr Haakenslash's office apprised of the situation and it was decided they would see me. After some probing on my ARNP's part, some blood came up in my mouth, and later a clot, so it's clear that the wound was open on the pharynx end.

She took a sample of the tissue granulation for biopsy (No pathologist report yet) and we did a CT scan, which showed no tumor and some edema on my left side. I offered to do the biopsy with the scissors on my Swiss army knife (I had already been trimming the granulation with it), but she declined my offer.

I started on a course of a heavier anti-biotic (Augmentin), and four days later it's still suppurating. Yesterday, that side of my neck was turning pink and an smaller abscess was developing. I drained the abscess manually and this morning it all looked good, except for some faint pink. Left ear still hurts.

Tomorrow, Dr Haakenslash will take my case to the Tumor Board

Pete I have been having that problem with my neck and up thru my jaw , tongue into my left ear. It hurts like hell, but they say it is scarfe tissue and will keep being more painful. They gave me methadone ot use with the percocet and Magic Mouthwash. I am at the point where I hate to eat or even drink water,. I force it. Ihope you are just hurting and nothing else is going on. good luck.

Pete, Im very sorry to hear of your new problems. Hoping tomorrow brings some ideas and solutions from the tumor board. Please make sure to update on the outcome.

Hi, Pete,
I hope things go well for you and am very interested in following your progress. All the best_

Anita

PETE
leave it alone for gods sake.Poking and proding with foreign objects and fingers will do more harm thaan good.Once these infections take hold they are the very devil to treat and you are not helping.

Liz, both the nurse practitioner and I are doing the poking. Having plumbed the depths, in two directions, of the voids, I no longer need to probe.

I've suggested that maybe we should just ream it out and install an 'Upper G-Tube'<g>.

It's going to take stronger antibiotics than so far because it is still suppurating away. Problem right now is that my neck is very tight and my range of motion side-side and up-down is quite restricted, plus my ear hurts.

Here's the latest, sent to me today; I will see Dr Haakenslash on Wed.

"The comments from tumor board is that there is an area at the left side at the base of tongue which could relate to non-healing tissue or potentially be tumor. Dr. Futran is not convinced and wants to see you on the 31st. This is not an area easy to biopsy so he will evaluate himself. I told him that you are basically at your baseline ie doing okay not declining per my evaluation."

Here's a copy of the 'report' I just sent to my PCP. She not only appreciates the update, but the clinic has just gone super-digital, so she can pop me email into my record with a few touches on the digital clipboard.

P.S. Dr Haakenslash mentioned that the ear pain I am experiencing is actually 'referred' pain from my throat.

Dr Koval,

Just got back from seeing Dr Haakenslash in his lair at UWMC about the hole in my neck. He and his chief cutthroat did some poking and prodding on the outside and they could see where it came out on the inside (In the pharynx I presume; I am amazed at how deeply into the throat Dr H can see with a heated dental mirror, esp with all the blockage back there and the trismus up front). Of course, that generated some blood in my throat (with a nice clot of blood that I believe was from the wound channel, which in turn leaked into my trachea and was coming out of my trach tube, confirming to me that I shouldn't try to swallow food or drink).

He confirmed that it is only an infection, not beginnings of a tumor, mostly based on it responding to the antibiotics rather than growing larger as a tumor would. The CT showed edema, but the tumor board had had a slight reservation about a possible tumor.

The plan for now is to continue with antibiotics (Had two rounds of keflex and am on second round of augmentin; they gave me a script to continue the augmentin) and a followup with Carol or Dr H every two weeks.

In the event that problems continue, we would jump to surgery to clean it out and graft in some muscle to fill it up.

Pete

Im right there with you on the non-healing wound problem.

Let me explain what Im going thru and maybe this can help you. I have had a hole in my neck right below my ear since my jaw surgery in August. It was the size of a nickle and very deep. It went right thru in a tunnel into my mouth. The jawbone was exposed.

The wound became infected and I was put on antibiotics for about 3 months. It didnt work, I have a staph infection in the wound. I also was put on a wound vacuum machine for about 4 months. This worked and helped the wound heal, when it was removed the wound doubled in size.

Now I do HBO, see an infectious disease doc and also wound specialists. I am on IV antibiotics for a minimum of 6 weeks. I have a pic line and take the meds 3x per day.

So you see, there are other alternatives before surgery. My doc doesnt want to operate cuz its such a large area. Also, this is an area that had radiation and the healing is very slow. All wounds must heal from the inside out. Has your doc swabbed it to check for what type of infection? If its a staph infection, you need long term and stronger antibiotics.

Its much better to have an infection than have a tumor. Next time you see your doc, bring up some of this info and see what he says. Hope your wound heals soon.

Wishing you good health!!!!

See Christine, you're right there to offer help when needed I pray that you heal soon, too.
julieann

Christine, I happened to go to the VA clinic recently for something unrelated and the Doc inquired about the wound. He would have jumped directly to the IV antibiotics. If it's still suppurating in two weeks when I go back in, I'll ask for a swab.

Mine is more like a .22 or pencil eraser size.

My crude understanding about non-healing wounds is that they occur where blood supply is limited, which is likely why they also infect. This is an area that's been nuked and now crisscrossed with surgical scars. I would even question whether surgery would work if some blood vessels weren't added.