Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#35801 04-25-2002 07:02 AM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5
TammiW Offline OP
Member
OP Offline
Member

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5
My sister has squamous cell carcinoma on the roof of her mouth/right side. She will be having surgery very soon at MDACC in Houston. I was wondering how long her hospital stay might be, or does it vary depending on the severity of the cancer and the surgery?? Thank you.

#35802 04-25-2002 11:20 AM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,912
Likes: 52
OCF Founder
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Offline
OCF Founder
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)

Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,912
Likes: 52
You are right to assume that the more extensive the procedure, the longer the stay. But in general, partial maxillectomies do not require extensive hospital time. Most patients are in and out in less than a week. It is important to have a maxillofacial prosthodontist involved before the surgery (Something that a multidisciplinary facility like MDACC has on staff.) This is because after the surgery, your sister will wear a device called an obturator to close up the surgical defect. Proper planning and coordination between these two different kinds of doctors before the surgery yields the optimum final results. MDACC is lucky to have one of the finest maxillofacial prosthodontists on staff, and that is Dr. Rhonda Jacob. I mention all this because the surgery, and the short stay for it, is only the first step in many visits to finally have not only the cancer removed, but also function and esthetics restored to her mouth.


Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.

Moderated by  Brian Hill 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Top Posters
ChristineB 10,507
davidcpa 8,311
Cheryld 5,260
EzJim 5,260
Brian Hill 4,912
Newest Members
Jina, VintageMel, rahul320, Sean916, Megm37
13,103 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums23
Topics18,166
Posts196,921
Members13,103
Most Online458
Jan 16th, 2020
OCF Awards

Great Nonprofit OCF 2023 Charity Navigator OCF Guidestar Charity OCF

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5