Hi just wanted to say sorry about your having to be here. Everyone's right - the how isn't important - but a friend if mine who works fo a cancer dr. Once quoted him... "a recurrence just mean's they didnt get it all " it sounds like that may be the case. Often times when they do a neck dissection and surgery, they radiation the affected areas - they don't radiate bilaterally unless theres reason to. I now this because I had the same surgery your mom did and had I not asked very specifically what my baseline ct was like, I would have received radiation only to one side, as it was there was a very small node highlighting on the other side. so hey rewrote my plan to include both sides. Regardless a nk dissection is he best treatment a his point but I would ask if her first round of treatment included radiation on that side. Good luck.