Jen: Surgeons are always cocksure & usually arrogant. It is part of their training (I am sure they have classes on how to be arrogant). My brother had his neck dissection following chemo& radiation and I was at the hospital the next day, less than 12 hours after surgery and he was up, sitting in a chair, reading the paper & crabby because his surgery the night before was delayed (somebody else's surgery took longer than expected). He told me he was going to go home early (home was about an hour & a half away)so he could sleep, he said he felt OK and the noise of the hospital was annoying. He looked fine but tired. His doctor came in & explained he was NOT going home early, they want to make sure everything is OK before they sent him home. My point is that the surgery was not a big deal - honestly he was up & walking around his hospital room less than 12 hours after the surgery. He told me that he had walked out of the room that morning & asked one of the nurses which way was the exit (he was joking). It certainly was easier than the chemo or radiation. You'll cope just fine! - Candace

Hi Jen, for me the neck dissection was by far the easy part. Tonsillectomy-Sucked, radiation-Sucked, neck dissection-not so bad.

I would ask your surgeon if you are a candiate for a "modified radical neck dissection" where the sternocleidomastoid muscle and nerves are spared. You will experience less long term effects if this muscle is not removed.

Recovery is pretty quick and pain was not a problem.

Hi Jen; Pretty well everyone feels that the rads are the worst of the two..and their effects are quite life changing especially if you lose your saliva glands (I did).
I'm eight weeks past an extended radical neck dissection for a recuurence, and still experience some discomfort. I started physio within four weeks of surgery and the edema and stiffness are slowly improving.
Like you, morphine made me a little crazy, so we went with codeine after surgery with more success. Codeine should come pre-mixed with a laxative- but regular senokot handled those problems.
You did so well with your rad/chemo even though it was a hellish experience, I know you will come through this part A-OK.
Good recovery and gentle healing is wished for you. Keep on posting.
Fran

Hi Jen,
I too had my neck dissection about 8 weeks post-rad. It was a selective dissection, so I'm not sure if it's comparable to what you're looking at. Mine took about 3 hours,and they froze and stained the samples, and looked at them right there in the OR. I was allowed to go home that night. I had a draintube for 4 days, and returned to work (part time) 6 days later.
As many have said, the surgery was a breeze when you have radiation treatment as a point of reference. There was some loss of range of motion, and strength in the shoulder, but now a year later it's just a memory.

You can do this.
Best wishes for a quick recovery,

Chuck

Hi Jen,
I stress that you know what they expect to do and whether they need to take any saliva glands or cut muscle. You also need to make certain that your surgeon is an excellent plastics guy because all that hem stitching underneath counts for how bad the scars are going to be and how well the neck heals. I was in hospital for 5 days each time until drain removed. They WILL have you out of bed the day after surgery walking around. Remember to support your arm with the hand under the elbow if you feel a drag on the shoulder. Now is the time to get that stuffed animal that your kids are supposed to loan you because it will help support your shoulder and help comfort you while you miss them. Will be thinking of you and hope you do not need the pain meds. I didn't, but many do. Will be thinking of you on surgery day.

Take care,
Eileen