I have been fortunate not to have had radiation treatment after my surgery in May but my teeth have started shifting, moving from the left to right. It seems to be happening quite quickly, a notable difference in two weeks. My teeth in the front are overlapping and one is almost in front of the others. I went to the ENT man for my check up on Friday and he says my jaw is significantly out of alignment, it is being pulled down due to the partial neck dissection. He asked me if I was sure I hadn't had radiation. He has referred me to an orthodontists to see if he can rectify this...not sure how....and says if he can't I'd need to see the maxiofacial surgeons. I hope that doesn't mean more surgery. The area under my left hand side jaw has shrunken in very markly and I'm experiencing bouts of extreme exhaustion, pain in my neck, face and throat. Also that horrible tight elastic band around the throat feeling.

My op was in England and I had a wonderful team there. I'm now in South Africa where the medical system is different (no team) and I'm feeling a bit anxious about the continuity of my treatment. They have all my records from the UK.

I would be very grateful for any information or comments.


Female 62
Tongue cancer Stage 3 T2 N1 M0 SCC G2
Surgery Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, England: 24th May 2010
Left partial glossectomy,
left functional neck dissection, radial forearm free flap reconstruction,
skin grafting to flap donor site