My husband David had a total glossectomy w/free flap reconstruction from his thigh and a selective neck dissection on 4/12. He should be getting out of the hospital this Tuesday. The recovery has been no piece of cake, but not as bad as I anticipated it would be. Of course, he needed a tracheostomy. He's still got quite a bit of swelling so he will be going home with the trach. It is uncuffed and he has a Passy Muir valve to practice speaking. He can breathe through his nose and mouth with the trach hole closed off but it's still tight.

Here's where the question(s) come in. The ENTs can't say for sure when the trach is coming out. Of course I understand every patient is different and how long swelling lasts varies from person to person. David has had his neck fully radiated (just over 5 yrs ago) and I understand that can create issues with slower healing and more swelling. They have said that he may possibly need to keep the trach in until after radiation treatment if he requires it (waiting on tumor board meeting Thursday, but it seems to be a given that more radiation will be recommended). They think this may be so b/c he's been radiated before? Sooo...how does this sound?

David had cancer of the oral tongue and it extended into the floor of his mouth forward to the mandible this time around. However, his lymph nodes were clear this time and he only had levels I-III removed. I talked with the nurse at HUPTI (Hampton U. Proton Therapy Inst.) when giving her an update about David (he sought proton therapy as an option before realizing surgery was inevitable so he's already a patient there) and she said the RO would be better able to determine whether he would still need the trach b/c he makes the determination on what areas are to be radiated and how much.

And another question...when should we expect speech/swallowing therapy to start?

- Melodie