Hello all,
I had Trans Oral Robotic Surgery (TORS) at Stanford University yesterday with Dr. Holsinger.
The goal of the surgery was to identify the primary in order to determine the appropriate IMRT protocol.

They removed the lingual tonsil, my residual tonsils/adenoidal tissue (had them removed when I was 3) and then all the tissue on the left BOT down to the muscle (this is mostly epithelial and lymph tissue.) I spent the night at the hospital and release this morning. Recovery time is 2 weeks (3 weeks for strenuous exercise.) Pathology should take 7 to 10 days.

Not too much bleeding but it's very difficult to swallow and the pain is pretty high. The doctor said the second day would be the worst day and to stay in front of the pain with 5mg of oxycodone every 6 hours. I'm going to try to alternate that with tylenol as the swelling bothers me more. Yesterday, about 6 hours after surgery, I ate a bowl of blended chicken soup, some jello, and a popsicle. They want me to try soft solid foods tonight.

One interesting anecdotal observation by my surgeon. He noticed I had a great deal of "super reactive lymph-type tissue" at the BOT and he has seen that repeatedly with HPV+ oral cancers. He suspects that may be one reason we don't resolve virus like other people do. Again, that's not peer-reviewed, just his observation.

I am in two clinical trials - one for biomarkers for oral cancer (Dr. Le, Stanford) and one on the use of TORS and quality of life for oral cancer (Dr. Holsinger.) Hope my data can help others!

Thank you all for your support. I'm going to experiment with scrambled eggs and grits for my soft food. Had a protein shake when I came home; it took a long time to drink it.

Stef

Stef,

I'm so glad your surgery went well, and are in good hands at Stanford!

It would be interesting to see what biomarkers they will be testing for as there are different ones I'm reading about.

Stef,

Thank you for taking part in the trials. Every little piece of information may turn out to be vital. Like my husband's MO used to say, it will benefit mankind.

If you need to boost your intake while you are having some difficulty with swallowing, you can try making fortified milk and use it with whatever you are putting the milk into. It's basically just adding powdered skim milk to the regular milk you are using. It will add to the calorie count.

All the best ahead.

Thank you all.

I was able to have a scrambled egg today and 1/4 of an avocado.

I also had a smoothie for breakfast with whey and mango - that's the only fruit I can currently tolerate.

Tonight I hope to have some cottage cheese. Thank you all for the support. Having read your experiences with swallowing and nutrition have kept me from panicking.