Our ENT sent Barry for a carotid US before he started treatment and before he even went up to Hopkins. She was concerned that one of the affected nodes was very close to the artery and might be occluding it some (it was).

As Brian says, this shouldn't be an issue -- it is SOP for our ENT, in any case.

As to neck dissection after chemoradiation, it is often not done at MD Anderson (or at Sloan, and increasingly less so at Hopkins) unless considered absolutely necessary, so she may want to consult with Anderson before making any decision to postpone further treatment. They can give her a hand's-on consult and then, if they recommend surgery, it is pretty certain that she needs it.

Gail