I had to have mine changed once and they did it by hand and it didnt hurt whatsoever.Then when they went to take it out for good they had a contraption that they hooked to it to tell them how much force it was taking to take it out. That hurt like crazy. So, with that said, make them pull it out by hand... LOL

Dx Mar 07 with Base Of Tongue Stage IV. IMRT 35x with 3 doses Cysplatin ran concurrent. Tx ended May 31,07. Left and right node involved. Radical neck disection 7/18/07