Gina, sounds much like me. I was not given the option of a cadaver, they took from my forearm to rebuild my tongue.

I think the risk of a cadaver would be that it is foreign, and your might reject it (that's how it works with organ donation - I'm a kidney donor to my dad). With your own tissue there is no risk of that, so it is something you may want to explore further with the surgeon.

You will likely have 4 drains from your neck, which is simply to aid in draining a buid-up of fluid in your neck. They tend to take them out one at a time, when the levels in each drain drop. I didn't feel a thing when they removed them, so no worries there.

Good luck and keep us posted.