Cheryl,

I had the same procedure done on left side of tongue. I initially had a portion taken away about the size of a loonie. In my case, no split of the lip or lower jaw, no trach either. My surgeon complained about my jaw not being able to open wide, but he was still able to do it without being that invasive. My face was all bruised afterwards, as they had to yank my cheeks open from both sides. What I remember most about that surgery is my throat being really sore, even with pain killers, because of the breathing tube they put through my nose. Also, the stitching could be a real pain, mine came loose because the tongue is always moving, so lots of bleeding in my case. The 3rd and 4th day of healing were the most painful for some reason, day 7 it was bearable and I was back to work. Speech, taste not affected, no nerve damage either.
Good luck!