Mica,

I did have a neck dissection; however, my diagnosis was somewhat different from yours. I had tongue cancer (left side) and had both a partial glossectomy and neck dissection before having radiation.

Before doing the procedure, my surgeon explained that, depending on what they found going in, the neck dissection could be somewhere in a range from only moderately invasive to very invasive. In my case, they did not have to split the jaw -- I ended up with a scar that starts right under the center of my chin and runs under the left jaw line to a point back behind my left ear. In the long run, the neck dissection was far less of an issue for me than radiation was. While it did take some time to heal (and there was temporary pain and stiffness), I did get back almost full range of motion in my neck. In fact, many people who did not know me at the time I had cancer, and who subsequently found out about my surgery, have said they were surprised to hear about it, because they wouldn't have guessed it from external appearances. I guess that's the long way around to say that neck dissections aren't all identical.

Cathy