Hi Nyc

My epiglottis was removed during surgery 2 years ago at MD Anderson. I'm sure our situations are different because I didn't have radiation. After surgery, I woke up with a feeding tube through my nose. They immediately sent me to the speech therapists for swallowing evaluation. After working with them I was able to swallow OK and feeding tube was removed 4 days later. Yes, I had aspiration problems also, especially at first when tube was removed and again when I got home from hospital. After conscious effort and taking care what I eat, I am swallowing just fine now. If I get in a hurry or eat grainy stuff such as rice, it will happen but I am always able to cough it up without further problems. It seems in your husbands case, he needs to see speech therapist ASAP because they can show him many different ways to swallow. Hope this is of some help to you and good luck.