Kris couldn't even insert 1 finger Into his mouth 3 months post op.
I asked Rajan (head and neck surgeon ) about the therabyte but both he and Jonette ( SLT ) were not In favour ,saying that in their experience they didn't really achieve much opening.
Kris was told to use his fingers. Inserting them into his mouth sideways.
He started with just the one , flat as he couldn't get it in sideways. He did this at least every 30 mins, spending 5 minutes on stretching, especially when I was around to nag him. Slowly, he progressed to 2 then 3 fingers. It really is just committing to do the exercises.
On another note, Kris got a partial plate with teeth this week! Now when he opens his mouth there are some lovely teeth to see. This was paid for by our local hospital as Kris had been having problems with ulcers on his tongue flap. The partial plate is to alleviate this.
Even though he can get 3 fingers into his mouth , it was a mission for the technician to get his molds into Kris's mouth. In the end he made molds especially for Kris .
Get practicing. It does work.
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!