I had my surgery Aug 2002 then had 33 radiations with concurrent weekly chemo. In Oct 2002, I had a deep neck abscess so the surgeon re-open (2") to drain the pus. The incision site hardened and stay that way until today. Until May 2003, I had lymphoedema under my chin, after the edema is gone, the neck became tighter and tighter (I am very concerned about this because I thought it should be the other way).

Anyway, I am 1 year out surgery and my neck hardness did not get better at all. In the first few months, it is just tight ("like someone is tighting a belt around my neck"), all doctor told me it is normal, now it feels like someone stuck a wood chip or gulf ball under my chin, and my ENT said "it lasted longer than others'. Now, I started to have more difficulty to turn left/right, up/down. If I tried too hard, it aches. It is nerve-wracking, I am working with my ENT these days to see what is wrong.