Hi Gemma,

I had a selective neck dissection. They removed two cancerous lymph nodes and 24 additional nodes on the left side of my neck. However, I had my lingual tonsils taken at that time along with several biopsies so it made for a rather painful aftermath.

The incision was made in a neck crease and while it looked pretty nasty immediately after surgery, you can't even tell now. However, my left shoulder was compromised due to nerve damage as tumors were intertwined with the nerves, muscles and blood vessels of my neck. You can see the difference in my shoulder from the left to the right side as the left looks atrophied. The drain tube was a little weird and it hurt a bit getting it pulled out but the discomfort was short lived.

Good luck! Positive thoughts and prayers

"T"