Hi Gemma, I had a bilateral neck dissection to remove nodes on both sides. I actually had no pain, as they cut through nerves and my neck was entirely numb. The only discomfort was that there is a fair amount of swelling, and internally it feels very tight. Only now (8 months post surgery) am I feeling any pain, which is more of an ache than pain, as the regeneration is working its way along.

The drains are minor (I had 4 drains in total). They sound gross and the fluid looks a bit creepy, but I didn't feel a thing.

I was able to swallow as soon as they took the trach tube out (I had a partially glossectomy with reconstruction), although little bits at a time, which increased quickly. Hard to say how much was tongue issue vs. neck.

Good luck.