They put a nasal tube in for a few days, and ate a puréed diet after that, which I'm still on due to having no teeth anyway, and was on a mechanical soft diet before that anyway, aspirating as shown on the modified barium swallow I had on Friday, which isn't really new. They also put a trache in for about 4 days with a button devise after the first day, so I could speak more effectively, but once removed the stoma hasn't fully closed, so it's still open, and the biggest challenge keep having it changed, which food shouldn't really be going out, so that's another issue I'll have to find out about.

After surgery, I had no pain or issues with my jaw. It's mostly the inflammation on the neck flap, which has subsided, but may need debulking,!the thigh graft which has to scab over, and changing the fibula graft bandages, and trach stoma bandages daily. The stoma basically after each meal, so it must drive the nurses here crazy.

Another challenge was in recovery, and when getting to the step down room a day later was communicating. Knowing such from posts here, I had on my iPhone ispeak, but that didn't work out well with my vision at the time, so I was able to request an erasure board, which came in handy as I had no once there with me.

After a few days, I was anle to sit in a chair with assistance, and by the time I went to rehab I was allowed partial weight bearing on surgery leg, so use a walker or wheel chair.

I really didn't have to wait long. It was mostly me deciding to have surgery or not, and once I did, I delayed it by another month and used that time to
do as much as I could for myself, as there were all my doctors I wanted to check with, and then all the pre- op testing, MRI to check vein in legs, 3D CT scan of jaw, so I was quite busy, besides researching line yourself. I was lucky to have an ENT I had for three surgeries, plus experienced with ORN, this surgery, and use of mamary vein/artery as was the plastic surgeon with breast cancer reconstruction.

Hope this helps, and ask anything you would like if I can help.