Maria

I know only too well how nerve-racking your situation would be making you feel. My jaw was split during my first surgery to access my tongue and do the flap and then stuck back together with some plates - apparently my jaw bone had not healed properly before the radiotherapy started and well the rest is history....

I am still a work in progress, besides having a couple more setbacks everything takes alot of time to heal and therefore going from one step to the next certainly does test my patience.

My jaw looks fine - as I'm still in the process of getting my mouth prepared for bottom teeth implants my mouth/jaw looks like someone who has taken out their bottom dentures, it just looks a little shrivelled up - but once the teeth are implanted it will fill out again.

Understandably, my jaw area felt really strange at first - but over time I'm getting accustomed to it.

I guess I would be in deep $#!T if I didn't get used to it!!!!

The bilateral neck dissection was done in exactly the same place as they did during the first operation so things have healed really well on the outside. Obviously, due to the radiotherapy the tissue is still really damaged on the inside.

Recovery for me is still a very slow process as I'm still in treatment, actually I'm due to get my tongue flap debulked (thinned at the front) in a couple of weeks. Then after that heals my visits to the prosthdontist will start for the teeth implants.

Having said that, you probably don't have all the issues with the tongue flap and a couple of other setbacks that I have had, so therefore I hope your recovery would probably move at a much quicker speed.

I hope everything goes well at your appointment with the maxillofacial appointement. Keep us posted

Take care

Karen



46 yrs:
Apr 07-SCC 80% entire tongue removed,T4N1M0
Neck/D,Jaw Split, Trache 2 ops,PEG 3.5yrs
30 x rad,6 x Cisplatin,
30 x HBO
Apr'08- flap Recon + ORN Mandibulectomy
(hip bone to reconstruct jaw)
Oct'08 1 Plate out-jaw
Mar'09 Debulk flap
Sep'09/Jan&Nov'10/Feb&Jun'11/Jan&Jul'12/Oct'13/April'14-More surgery