Hi Portland,
Kris did have reconstruction. They took a flap from his abdomen to reconstruct the tongue . However this just fills the space where the tongue sits in his mouth. It is all sutured down and has no movement or taste.
However he is able to swallow all his nutrition, though it is just liquid. He also seems to have a reasonable amount of taste. There are taste buds throughout the mouth and nose.
Remember that Kris had a complete total glossectomy so he has no part of his original tongue left. This is not a common procedure. Most BOT tumours are cured by chemo/radiation treatment.
Tammy

Caregiver/advocate to Husband Kris age 59@ diagnosis
DX Dec '10 SCC BOT T4aN2bM0 HPV+ve.Cisplatin x3 35 IMRT.
PET 6/11 clear.
R) level 2-4 neck dissection 8/1/11 to remove residual node - necrotic with NED
Feb '12 Ca back.. 3/8/12 total glossectomy/laryngectomy/bilat neck dissection/partial pharyngectomy etc. clear margins. All nodes negative for disease. PEG in.
March 2017 - 5 years disease free. Woohoo!