Gemma, I will attempt to assist you. Im a bit confused by your post. Maybe its because of the term glands instead of just calling them lymph nodes. If you have enlarged lymph nodes it does not make sense for the doctor to only remove one and not all that are enlarged. Lymph nodes are enlarged is a sign something is wrong, possibly an infection.

From what I understand of the procedure, the surgeon who removes lymph nodes will do so until they get several nodes past the enlarged one. If they are checking with frozen sections they will be better able to judge how many are needed to be removed. Think of it like a train with many cars, the diseased node spreads down the line of cars not skipping any just going right down the line. I really hope that makes it easier to follow! So when the surgeon has say 3 that are enlarged, they would normally remove those 3 and take the next few to ensure that the disease has not gone any further. Its not normal procedure to leave enlarged nodes when they are unsure of the situation as it may end up then causing you to have another surgery to remove the other nodes.

Some members have discussed the neck dissections being done which really arent necessary. If it were me, I would question them quite a bit more before I would agree to this surgery. I would probably seek out a second opinion first, especially if you may be having a recurrence.

Ive had a neck dissection and to me it wasnt a big deal. For others it really bothers them with stiffness in their neck and shoulder, some have pain and some have numbness. The neck dissection can affect a persons range of motion, many need physical therapy.

Best wishes!