So, two days after surgery. He is up, sitting in a chair, had his first tube feeding and will start PT tomorrow. Swelling has gone down a lot. He can close his mouth all the way. His trach really freaked him out. He had a couple moments where he got to coughing, and secretions came up and he thought he was choking to death and practically got out of bed to clear his airway. That was scary. Today he seemed calmer and like he was getting used to it. How do they remove the trach and when? Is it scary for the patient to have it removed? The inside of his mouth is still swollen so it probably wont be for a little while. The skin they used from his leg to line his mouth is starkly white compared to his mouth. Its kind of gnarly to look at. It;s swollen so you can see it every time he opens his mouth. He said they're controlling his pain well.

The surgeon said the labs came back and there was no cancer in his lymph nodes and they got clear margins.

Do any of you who had a mandiblectomy have a partial denture on the side w/ no teeth? He's concerned about how he looks without his teeth on that side.