We are both a little apprehensive about the surgery. They have told us that my husbands corner of his mouth needs to be removed. I'm wondering if anyone has had to do this and if there is any advise you can give.

I also want to know what to expect before and after surgery. He will be in ICU for 10 days then I don't know what else is going on.
Any advise wouldn't help.

Have you discussed how much will be removed? Will the doc have a plastic surgeon working with him in the OR? He may not have told you all the details like who else will be working in the OR with him.

I would ask how long the surgery will be. It could be a good 5+ hours depending on how much is taken. Ask specifically how much tissue will be removed to get clear margins. Have the doc go into detail with exactly what he will be doing.

The above info will help you to understand more what to expect. Ive had a mandibulectomy which is probably similar to what your husband will have done. In my situation, half of my lower jawbone was removed.

Dont be surprised if your husband is kept medically sedated for a couple days. This is not that unusual in major surgeries. He may have a trach, if so ask for a possey muir valve trach so he is able to speak easier. You must ask for this or it wont be given. Your husband probably will not remember much of the hospital stay or even the first couple days when he goes home. He may have significant pain levels. It would be a good plan to ask the doc to prescribe him 2 different pain meds so if he is hurting he would be able to take one or the other instead of waiting in agony for the clock to get his next dose. Sometimes the doc will give the patient a pain pump where they can get pain meds by pushing a button.

Ask the doc about eating, how much the surgery will compromise his ability to eat.

Recovery can be long depending upon how much is removed. He may have a "free flap". This is tissue taken from another area (usually wrist) to be used to replace what was removed. Dont be surprised to see major swelling that doesnt seem to go away for a few weeks. Complete recovery from a surgery like this can take a full year. Reconstruction can always be done after waiting for a year. You would be amazed at what doctors can do with plastic surgery.

If you arent feeling comfortable with the info you already have received from the doc, schedule another appointment to review the surgery info.

Best wishes!

We have another appointment on Tuesday with a surgeon about the reconstruction. So I will be sure to ask detailed questions.

They said that the surgery will take 10-12 hours. There will be a plastic surgeon on hand to do reconstruction right away. They are going to be using this new light to be sure they get all the margins out. This light works like a black light and makes the cancer show dark. So they can be sure where to cut.

They will be doing a free flap from his wrist to replace tissue and veins in his cheek.

thanks for the info. Curious to find out how different you looked and if you had any depression or any sadness due to this.

Hi where is he being treated.?

Calgary Alberta at the Tom Baker Cancer Center

We were told today by surgeon that because his wrist has hair on it, when they put it in his mouth, he may have hair in his mouth. Has anyone experienced this. Let me know. Thanks. Surgery is booked for Monday.

Yes, this is can happen. Ive read several posts about patients who have gone thru this. As time goes on the hair will diminish and thin out and eventually it becomes barely noticeable.

Best wishes!

I have hair on my tongue. I don't even notice/feel those.
Almost two months, I am out of surgery, nothing is worry some. Will go away eventually...
Functions are more important, swallow, speaking, moving food from one side to another.

It does happen. If they take from the inside of his wrist there shouldn't be too much I'm a woman so I had none but I know of a few people who had thigh transplants and they are quite hairy - laser kills it and rads will diminish it. Hugs.

Kris had his flap taken from his abdomen.
There were initially hairs on it. I think they were all gone after a few months. He never noticed them.
Tammy