Hockeydad

Radical is one type of ND. The main OCF website spells out the various types of neck dissections.
OCF types of ND
It's short so print it out and take it with you to the doctors. It is a big deal what type you get, similar to breast mastectomies. At a minimum you want the surgeons to avoid cutting the shoulder and neck muscles, they can be moved albeit with trauma.

My CCC, Georgetown has a very nice explanation on its web page including more specifics on "how" and "why". It is an indepth answer to your post so I won't repeat it.
As DavidCPA implied, there are major downsides to losing the lymphatic system's defenses that need to be balanced against the risks as Kelly noted.
GT: Neck Dissection
Even though it's longer, I'd still print this one out also just to reread.
Keep the Faith
Charm