I have had a partial mandibulectomy with fibula free flap reconstruction a few years later. Before the original surgery the dr said there could be some nerve damage. I have experienced numbness and tingling in the lip, tongue, neck and outer ear in various degrees. Sometimes there is a definite tingling and at others I feel normal. A portion of my tongue over the site often feels swollen but itis not, basically like I have had novacaine. I just add it to the list of bodily aches and pains that come and go with being alive.