Hi All! Just thought I would keep everyone apprised that my husband (John) has been doing pretty good overall since I last chatted with everyone. His appetite is getting better - he even managed to tackle a small (5 oz) steak just a few days ago! He ate most of it - but he said the "taste" was still lacking - which still hold true for a lot of different foods that he eats. I suppose that still just takes more time. There seems to be more mouth dryness now - but he has been using the "Orajel" which definitely helps. On Friday (1/24) my husband has an appointment to meet with his surgeon. I am hoping that perhaps, with any luck, he may not even need the surgery for the neck dissection that is part of the original treatment plan for him. But if it turns out that he does have to get this procedure done - what I woulk like to know is:
1. Does a neck dissection effect your eating abilities? I guess what I mean is, since my husband is finally starting to get an appetite back to some degree - will this procedure cause him to start from "ground zero" again?

2. Does a neck dissection effect speaking ability afterwards? My husbands voice is back to normal after all that radiation treatments which had him talking like the "Godfather" for awhile!

3. On average, what is the length of time for a procedure like this? Is it a lengthy surgery?

Thanks for taking the time out to read my question, and please forgive me if this has been answered a "thousand" times already in the past. I want to especially thank Joanna and Rosemary for their recent and re-assuring responses. I will be unable to meet with the surgeon tomorrow with my husband since I cannot get out of work - so I'm hoping to fill in some of the blanks on this procedure by anybody who has been there before. Any information you can give is always greatly appreciated.