First you must remember that there is no average patient. So while some are on a PEG tube for a month, others, like me are on it for a year. Some people live with it the rest of their lives after extensive surgeries.

As to the neck dissection, there are several variations of radical neck...they vary in how much structure is removed. Mine for instance, was a modified radical neck dissection in which only the lymph node chains and the surrounding fatty tissues were removed. Other neck dissections remove musculature. In most of them there is some nerve damage. In mine for instance the nerve was cut (intentionally) that services the right side of my neck, so I have no feeling there. Depending on how much structure is removed, what nerves are severed, etc. patients will have varying results. There are vascular issues as well, the most common is thoracic outlet syndrome where, because of impingement of various blood vessels, when you raise your arm on the surgical side above your head, the blood supply is reduced and the feeling in your arm goes away. These are just some of the things that result from the procedure, none of which outweigh its benefits in my opinion.