Welcome to OCF, Keke! I’m very sorry to hear about what’s going on with your husband. There’s several other members who have been thru the same kind of surgery as your husband faces. In fact, I’ve been thru a similar surgery myself 11 years ago.

I’m sure the consults were NOT easy! Just hearing what options are available and descriptions of the surgery (mandibulectomy) is enough to upset and cause significant worrying in anyone. Definitely uncharted territory for most couples!

The best thing you can do is to locate top physicians who are very experienced with oral cancer (OC) and specifically preforming manbulictomies. I suggest finding this type of highly skilled medical professionals/oncologists at a CCC (Comprehensive Cancer Center). A team based approach along with newest procedures and treatments are very important as is getting only the best of the best specialists available which you will find working at CCCs. Yes, it really is that important!!! Don’t let the choice of location determine your husbands fate. I also suggest reading but only from reliable sources that have correct, up to date medical info. With OCFs badge from Health on the Net, rest assured OCF is one of the very few to meet their stringent criteria to always allow only correct medical info to be on the OCF site.

The info I’m passing along is probably not what you or any patient likes to hear. But, a well informed patient/caregiver helps to make better choices and can understand how important that one decision could be. Unfortunately you and your husband are facing one of the most important choices of your lives and his life could depend on making the right choice. This complex type of cancer surgery might only have one shot to eliminate every single microscopic cell of cancer. It’s likely the team will not be able to have a redo if complications arise. Smaller, local hospitals or cancer treatment facilities probably will NOT be a good fit for your husbands situation. Even if they come highly recommended from other patients.... ask almost anyone here about if they would recommend their treatment specialists and almost every OC patient will say their team was the best and/or I love my team, they saved my life! For example you may run into patients or caregivers whose patients tumors were found nearby near them he throat instead of blood they he chin. For those patients their OC surgeons probably will have much more experience in surgeries involving tumors located in the base of the tongue or tonsil areas. This is also a complex surgery but that doesn’t mean that surgeon has the same experience doing mandibulectomies.

There’s several options for reconstruction down the road and can greatly vary from patient to patient. This is dependent on soooo many variables for which option should work best. All options given and selected could change depending on what the surgeon runs into during the operation. A piece of lower leg bone from your husbands leg could be used, a titanium jaw created by taking your husbands bone measurements, a cadaver bone may sound awful but it actually has better odds of success than other choices. Regardless of what option is chosen, the end result of the usual 10+ hour surgery could be different. It’s a very long road which requires lots of time to eliminate all the cancer and recovery back to as close to his former self as possible. No matter if complications arise from your husbands mandibulectomy he must wait at least one year after the mandibulectomy for any reconstruction work to be done. Yes, it does take that long to be considered recovered from such a long and complex surgery. That’s the part many patients get upset over, especially if they aren’t looking like they did before the surgery. Definitely NOT easy!!!! For example swelling seems to last forever takes months to dissipate! Unfortunately many patients must do further cancer treatments after the surgery so that could also delay his recovery and change when post-mandibulectomy reconstruction is ok to do. Another important thing that helped me was to remember to take it one day at a time plus understanding everybody is different meaning results will vary.

Please let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll do my best to help with further info. Best wishes with everything!!!