Hi Fred,

I had a Modified Radical Neck Disection for tonsil cancer. I had the surgery in August, 2006 (doesn't seem like that long ago).

My doctor was especially careful not to damage the nerve which allows the shoulder muscles to be controlled, and this was a major point that he impressed on me.

The surgery was not nearly as bad as the tonsillectomy. I have recovered quite nicely.

I started doing neck stretches and shoulder stretches (of various kinds) daily a couple of weeks after surgery - I still do them every day. These have kept my neck pretty flexible. I also put vitamin E cream on the scar daily (on the radiation burns too, for that matter), which has helped immensely in blending in the scar.

I am quite pleased with the results. I still have some numbness and some occassional tingling (although I get more tinglng when I do some of my neck stretches). My wife says the scar isn't so bad, and she doesn't notice the flesh is missing from that side of my neck (where 40 lymph nodes were removed for biopsy). Of course I notice these things, but they really aren't too bad.

Anyway, good luck and best wishes,

Chris