Hi Didier:

I hope your mom is doing okay. In general, neck dissection is often performed before radiation and/or chemotherapy in which case radiation starts about 6 weeks after the surgery provided there are no complications.The person who has a neck dissection will also often have a prophylactic tracheotomy post-operatively and this may take up to a few weeks to close. If your mom has a G-tube from radation, it's best to leave it in until surgery is completed.

For those who have large or awkward tumors to access and resect, radiation may be done first followed by neck dissection. Anecdotally (and Brian edit as needed), I often see these done about 6 weeks after also. The important factor with this approach is that the post-radiation neck is often more difficult to work with because the tissue changed from radiation and becomes sort of gummy and glue-like to try to manipulate. It's really important to ask your surgeon if he/she thinks this is a factor in your mom's case.

The staging and nodal involvement of the initial tumor often helps a surgeon decide whether ot not to recommend a neck dissection as well. Can you tell us a bit more about your mom's specific case? Also, does she have any other major medical problems?

Kim