Okay so my trip to the specialist was informative though I was well prepared when I went in to see him. I do have one question for those of you out there who have been through a partial glossectomy - did they split your lip and lower jaw? I was told this might have to happen and i'm moderately worried! I will of course have it done if necessary but I am also going to emphasize that that should be an absolute last resort - I was told it was related to access... If they have trouble getting at the area they will do that but I am crossing my fingers and toes that it will not be neccessary.

ron was cut from ear to ear and his face lifted off...sorry to sound so yucky but that's what they did to him. he didn't have to have anything split except his neck...

Cheryl,

My surgeon specifically does NOT split the jaw, nor did he put in a trach as a routine thing, although I had given consent for one, unless absolutely necessary. His view is that the least intrusive he can be the better for future quality of life. The reconstruction surgeon did have a more difficult task but he rose to the challenge beautifully.

- Margaret

Cheryl

It depends on where the tumor is located and how hard it is for the surgeon to get to it. My understanding is that its routine to split the jaw open if the tumor is at the base of the tongue as otherwise the surgeon can't get to it. I'm not familiar with the "lifting the face off" alternative technique Ron had done. My face stayed firmly in place. The Neck dissection does require slitting your throat.
Yours seems to be on the lateral side of the tongue and as Margaret noted, it may not be necessary at all to split your jaw in order to get access. Hope this helps
Charm

ya it kinda freaked Ron out when they told him that's what they were doing to him. He had nothing cracked or split. They went in that way, his cancer was under his tongue i gotta get the correct term here...sounds yucky but that's how they did his. He has a scar from ear to ear. they didn't take it off all the way just from his lower part. Sorry don't want to sound icky but that's what he had done. no cracking or splitting anything. the talked about that but it didn't happen that way

Cheryl,

I had the same procedure done on left side of tongue. I initially had a portion taken away about the size of a loonie. In my case, no split of the lip or lower jaw, no trach either. My surgeon complained about my jaw not being able to open wide, but he was still able to do it without being that invasive. My face was all bruised afterwards, as they had to yank my cheeks open from both sides. What I remember most about that surgery is my throat being really sore, even with pain killers, because of the breathing tube they put through my nose. Also, the stitching could be a real pain, mine came loose because the tongue is always moving, so lots of bleeding in my case. The 3rd and 4th day of healing were the most painful for some reason, day 7 it was bearable and I was back to work. Speech, taste not affected, no nerve damage either.
Good luck!

Hi Hgt,

did they take cancer parts from your throat. My girlfriend's fathers scans showed that he had cancer cell on his throat, but we dont know the surgery procedure anybody has any idea or been that situation?

Wow ! hGT have they been treating you in the interim for then Lichen Planus? I know we talked about this - it's some kind of steroid treatment. have you gotten your surgery dates yet? I had my meetings with the specialist this week. That's why I asked about the split jaw... I do film work and as sad as it sounds I would prefer them to rip my face off (pull the skin up over my face and then split my jaw if they have to). I don't mind a scar under my chin but I would prefer not to have one on my face. I only met with my surgeon's fellow Wednesday as he was called away on a family emergency. I have filled out my surgical consent etc.. I was due to meet with him this coming Wednesday but he moved it up to Tuesday so I am hopeful that I will get a surgical date before the end of this month. However I will make a point of telling him I don't want my jaw split if there are other ways of doing this. Thanks for all your input! and thanks Margaret. The lesion the left underside of my tongue. So far nowhere else. It is 2.7 cm wide and 1 cm deep. But there is a reddish area around it that will also be excised. I want it all gone.

Hey Cheryl,

I know- the splitting of the jaw sounds horrific. I had a big scar but it has faded to almost nothing.. I had corrective reconstructive plastic surgery on the scar and on my neck to even out my trach scar 1 year after surgery and it really helped.

The reason they need to split the jaw open is so they can really see where the cancer has spread and to get clear margins to ensure that it will not reoccur. I think that this invasive approach allows for more successful surgery to remove the cancer with better margins. This is how it was described by my surgeon and oncologist.

Trust me- I understand very much why you wouldn't want it done - I really do. Its horrific and ghastly but honestlly if they say it is the only way for them to accurately and successfully remove the cancer you need to follow thier recommendations.

Your body will heal itself and amazing things can be done with plastic surgery and makeup so it will look like it never even happened.
Your life and career will work itself out to accomodate this surgery. I only say this because I care.

I know miss kate - thanks for the input! I hope the fact that this doctor uses image guided surgery - which is much like a CT scan and shows him the tumor in immediate time and ensures he gets all of it - that he won't have to split my jaw. I will know for sure tuesday. - I know plastics are great - I just really think that splitting my jaw will make it a longer healing period for me.

and not make me happy. I will do it if I have to but if there is a way around it. I would prefer that. Plus the less invasive the procedure - the better. UGH! It looks like you are doing well... so that's great!