This maybe should be a new topic but I wasn't sure. I am curious from those who have had surgery of any kind after head and neck radiation - was there any concern about getting a breathing tube down for the surgery? Ingrid or Brian, was this a problem in the recent surgery? I had my tongue and neck surgeries prior to radiation but then need surgery for a feeding tube. Because of previous stomach surgery and scar tissue this was a major operation. Minutes before taking me to surgery the anesthesiologist (I hope my spelling is close) said that because of radiation they might not be able to get a breathing tube down. In that case they would wake me up and numb my throat and try to do it with me awake (not a fun thought). There was even some possibility that they couldn't do it at all. The surgery scheduled right before mine was cancelled due to that reason. Mine turned out ok and the surgery was uneventful. However I wonder if the tissue gets harder to deal with as time passes. My surgery was 2 months after radiation. There is a good chance I will face more surgery in the next year (its now a year after radiation - the next surgery is not related to the cancer but to female issues). I am concerned about difficulties of having surgery.
ilene