Tiffany Morrison,

I’m sorry to hear of your fathers troubles! I too had a right mandibularectomy with a right fibula free flap about 4 years ago. It took about 8 hours, as my doctor does them often. Due to no vascularity in my left neck, after multiple surgeries, they used a carotid artery and vein from the chest for vascularity. I still have some difficulty in speech and lip appearance as the nerve was cut in my jaw, and not replaced. I may undergo a future surgery to correct the lip, but I’m in no rush for another surgery.

I don’t work anymore, so It doesn’t effect me as if I did, so I don’t have to deal with the public like that, but sometimes it is ordering out until I get right back!

I did go to an SLP sometime afterward. It was like my 3rd treatment through the years with that, so I don’t recall the specific exercises they did, but it was nice going as it was in the head and neck cancer unit, and everyone is asking about you, and see my ENT in passing.

Good luck with the surgery!

I forgot to add that I already had a feeding tube in case I needed it, which I didn’t since the hospital in the step down unit gace you purées food about the 3rd day. I was released after the 7th day, and went a rehab home for about 2 months. They didn’t remove the leg boot until my second month as my leg wasvt healing, but later had another graft surgery to close. The area for tracheostomy’didb’t heal for a month, so I had to do without and keot it covered.

Good luck with surgery!






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