He sounds like a doctor who understands the potential for micro mets to exist in the nodes undetected, and wants to play it safe. Good idea in my book. You will likely lose the nerve but keep the muscle. You will also lose all the fatty tissues in that side of your neck. I had a similar modified neck dissection, and you can see a picture of my final result on my story in the people section of the web site (founder's story).

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.