Donna,

Even though radiation is the standard of care in head and neck cancers, unfortunately there can be side effects that present years later. Infection and ORN are two of them. My husband was diagnosed and treated for ORN with surgeries to rebuild his jaw. I had posted 2 threads on this subject that you might want to read. While it has been a very challenging time since the 2 surgeries, we would not have done it differently. Prior to his surgery in Nov, his bite was out of alignment, and he had lost the ability to chew food. He also lost more teeth on the affected side but there were no opposing teeth there anyway. Those teeth had been removed in his cancer surgery on '07. The results of the jaw replacement surgery are nothing short of amazing!!! He has his jaw function back and he likes the way he looks. The key to a successful outcome is going to an OralMax, and a Plastic that have experience doing thousands of these procedures.

It has been a very tough 3 years but now that things seem to be back on track, very well worth the time and effort. Clark does have some pain from the jaw surgery that is his issue now. The Plastic is referring him to a pain specialist for that.If you want to see before and after pix, I can send them to your email address. Send me a PM.

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=107143#Post107143

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=114996#Post114996

All my best--
Anita