Hi Seth. I can only share with you my aunt's experience. The neck dissection (one side only) was not nearly as bad as the after effects of radiation. She came through the surgery very well at age 63 and her only complaints today are related to her speech from the tongue flap (I think she sounds completely normal) and from the radiation. Her only issue related to the neck dissection is a bit of stiffness in the neck.

D

Aunt diag. 2/4/10 with SCC Stage I/II on left side of tongue. Surgery 2/19/10 part. gloss./neck diss. on left side/free flap from chest muscle. TI/II,NO,MO. Clear margins with perineural invasion. Started rads 4/8/10 - 35 treatments, finished 5/26/10.