OK, what's early stuff? Let's assume this is your first biopsy/surgery.

When done, you will NOT be a complete wreck, although someone else should take you home from the hospital. However, after about two days you will be more than capable of driving. So before you go in, make sure your vehicle is full of fuel. It's better not to be at the self-serve at 25 below in a howling wind. This goes for any other things that will need doing like making sure any bills that could come due are paid. Try to save your recovery time for recovery (and surfing this forum)! So use the laundromat, get some groceries ahead, and do as much as you can to avoid contact with people after the surgery.

Sorry socialites. We told EVERBODY to stay away over Christmas, and that we were visiting nobody, neither my wife, nor me. That goes double for snot nosed grandchildren and others such as handshakers. Those of you who like to kiss dogs on the nose and pull your lips back so the dog can lick your front teeth and gums, well you're on your own. If you are taking any sort of public transportation, buses, trains or aircraft (as I did, my Lear Jet was in the shop over Christmas...yup honest, and I have some land...), then acquire a couple medical masks to wear while travelling. I forgot to do this for the flight down and used a black scarf instead. This got me some serious attention from the airport hero-complex security pretenders. If you have a choice, get the style that has four attachment points and goes behind the ears. You do not want a cold or strep-throat during your recovery.

Although this may be obvious to most people, you should have clean teeth. For a day or two before surgery, get your teeth as clean as possible, brushing and flossing. The problem is that if they are going to work on your tongue, as in my case, your tongue will be swollen for most of the first two weeks to almost half again as large as normal. In my case, I still have my four wisdom teeth, so my tongue tries to sit over top the molars. Biting down on one's tongue is a very real possibility. Your best bet is to pull your tongue down, close your jaws carefully, and keep your mouth shut. You will catch on. OK, but how do I eat? Answer: carefully. More in another post. Returning to cleanliness, you will also not want to be manipulating your tongue much in the first day anyway. On surgery day have a paper pad and pen available to communicate with. Talking could be very painful, especially if you talk too much immediately post surgery, and then the anesthetists drugs wear off. If you are still on mostly liquids the second day you probably won't want to brush your teeth then either because of tongue pain. If you're absolutely determined to brush your teeth, I suggest an electric tooth brush as it moves your tongue less. I have always used regular Crest toothpaste. Even the traditional minty ones like Pepsodent bothered me, and I love the hottest, spiciest, foods on the planet. What some of these new whitening formulas might do on open wounds is for somebody else to report.

As soon as you can move your tongue a bit, hopefully even on the first day you might consider flushing your mouth with salt water to keep any infection at bay. One half teaspoon of table salt in a tall glass of warm water will work good, as often as every three hours. Gargle it, don't swallow it. Now if like me the damage is to most of the right underside of your tongue, then you will have to blast the salt water in there. I obtained a 2oz (60ml) syringe, made by the BD company in New Jersey, from my local pharmacy. It has nice long tip on it with about a 1/8" hole in the end. Now a popsicle stick or tongue depressor to shove your swollen tongue out of the way and your cleaning in style (preferable over the sink with your sleeves rolled up!) This will be very handy when you start trying to eat food. This surgery not like your worst trip to the dentist. It is even WORSE YET. I doubt many have left the dentist with a swollen, incapacitated tongue. You have no idea what your tongue does in your mouth until you have had oral surgery. While you're eating, your tongue brings food back into position to be chewed again. It goes up between your teeth and cheeks and pulls out stray bits. It also cleans out the area beneath itself. All this goes on pretty well subconsciously. After surgery you will find out that those "backwater" areas are too painful to use your tongue to clean out. This is where the syringe comes in. Another item to prepare ahead of time is good flashlight that can shine a focussed beam inside your mouth. Try several and make sure the batteries are good. For food planning then, stock up on the smoothest, non-grainy things you can think of.