Welcome to OCF, RBH! You have come to the right place to get assistance with your concerns. Here we can help by giving you info the doctors arent able to, we speak from the patients point of view.

Ok so your mother has trismus (limited jaw opening) and now needs to have her jaw removed (mandibulectomy). Why does she need this done? Did the jawbone die (osteoradionecrosis)? How much of her jaw is being removed? What will the doctor be using to replace the bone they remove? Has she done hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBO) or have they been suggested? All these questions tell me how involved this is and will help me to help you.

I also have trismus, a feeding tube and have gone thru the mandibulectomy. Mine was due to having oral cancer invade my jawbone. It was the left lower jaw which was removed. I had many complications (thats just how things go with me) so it was a very long recovery. I am doing very well even with a few limitations which will always be there.

What I have seen most often with patients who have to have their jaw removed is they are hospitalized for about 2 weeks. The first week they usually are in ICU. It is usually a 10 hour surgery, it can be up to 14 hours for some. The first month is difficult for most. If a piece of the leg is used the patient may need physical therapy to return to walking normally. The mandibulectomy is a very intricate surgery and it can have a long recovery. While its not easy, it can be done and most patients will look the same with only a very slight difference in appearance afterwards. There is usually swelling which can take a couple months to go down. It will take a full year to completely go away and until any reconstructive surgeries can be done.

Please feel free to ask questions and I will be happy to help you with as much info and support as I can.

Best wishes!