Terry,

Having major surgery like a neck dissection is not like having a shot of novocaine, where you just wait for it to "wear off". A lot of nerves get severed in the process, and they take time to regenerate. I don't recall exactly how many months it took me to get back all of the sensation around my incision, but it definitely was a long time -- maybe as much as a year.

It is common (and to be expected) for you to have soreness in your muscles in that area, and difficulty with motion. Some people find that they need some degree of physical therapy to help get back to normal motion over time.

Please keep us posted on what you find out from your pathology report.

Cathy