Sorry I missed this and to answer your question, yes, the surgeon did tell me ahead of time that he planned to use extra skin from my neck to 'close' the area they cut the cancer from. I was not aware the bolster was going to be sutured to my tongue but that wouldn't of done me any good probably to know that ahead of time anyway.

I see your surgery was a few days ago, hoping your back home by now and resting comfortably. I was able to be discharged the day after my surgery with specific instructions on how to care for the drainage tube so hopefully they did the same with you and allowed you to go home to your family!

Laura Age 40
Tongue lesion on left side grew and was hurting in mid-August
Dx as squamous cell carcinoma on 9.18.18
Left Neck Dissection and tongue surgery, lost a fourth of my tongue on 10.1.18, tumor had grown to a T3
Margins were clear except front section of tongue margin had three stray cancer cells that were not in the tumor
Additional surgery 10.18.18 to remove another cm near where the stray cells were found
33 radiation treatments from Nov 2018 through Jan 2019