Don't worry about waking up after surgery. Spend more energy making sure you have the right team doing the surgery. I quote Susan2992 (see above);

"One thing I learn the hard why is where you are treated and who treats you is very important. I had a great surgeon (ENT), however, my first surgery was done at a small local hospital. I was given the "all clear" after my surgery. As I found out more about my cancer, I decided to go to a larger hospital for a second opinion. I needed to have the biopsy slides from my surgery sent to this hospital, so before sending them, the pathologist looked at the slides again and found out he "misread" one of them - there was cancer at the margin in one of the specimens."

Get to a hospital that specializes and has seen lots and lots of oral cancer. Ask if they plan a radical neck dissection. If yes, understand that there will be a neck scar. If not, find out why. Studies in the UK showed that recurrence decreases if the neck dissection is done. That's my personal and non-professional point of view.