Hi folks
Hope all are well.

Anyone else ever burnt skin off their flap??
I was told by my plastic surgeon there was only a slim chance i would get feeling in my "new" tongue...

well, put a spoonful of (way too hot) dinner in the other night on that side of my mouth and instantly felt it was too hot.

At the time i figured the sensations must have come from parts of my mouth or tongue next to the flap and it just seemed to be from there, but a check in the mirror later and i realised it was so hot i'd burnt a very fine layer of skin off.

Now, the burnt area is red and still hurts a few days later.

I'm torn between being annoyed that i have pain in my mouth (again!) and excited that i can feel the new tongue.

As well as burning yourself (!!?), how have other people gone getting feeling back?

Cheers
jon

Jon,
no ones ignoring you, I just haven't seen that question come up before. Surely there must be someone out there with the same experience.

I think the question to ask here is how many people with a flap or a graft have ANY felling in it, indicating nerve regeneration? If there are some of you, has your feeling come back enough to know when something is beginning to hurt you?

I have no feeling in mine at all! I can only tell when I've bitten it if it gets in the way of my teeth closing all the way when eating. Occasionally I can sense temperature, particularly cold water, but I suspect that's more the surrounding tissue being affected than the free flap.

- Margaret

I talked to plastic surgeon about it and he said they had connected nerves, but still didnt mean it would definitely get feeling.

Would be interesting to know how many people do...

Anyway, it healed well and pain was gone after a few days, just like any burn in your mouth.

So weird.

Cheers!
jon

Awesome that you have feeling - and surfing - heavy sigh - I only get to do it once or twice a year... Have fun!

OK I CAN ANSWER THIS NOW, RON BURNT HIS! AND YES HE FEELS IT TOO WEIRD HE'S HAD HIS FOR LONGER THOUGH THAN A FEW DAYS HE GOT A MOUTHWASH FROM ENT TODAY TO HELP IT HEAL

Hi Jon

I have feeling in my flap and my doctor was quite pleased to discover that nerves had grown in. Naturally my "store bought" tongue doesn't have taste (the rest of my tongue makes up for it), but Flappy (as I call it} seems to be more sensitive to heat and pressure than is my native tongue.

Even though it's been 6 years since surgery, I still have a paresthetic issue: whenever I touch the left side of my lower lip (the same side that Flappy is on), I get a sense of coolness on my flap, similar to a "York Peppermint Patty" sensation. Does this happen to anyone else?

Julia

I am 6 months out now. I have constant pins & needles effect on my flap 24/7 some times worse than others - I asked Dr. and he says it is a good thing as it is the nerve endings replenishing and could take up to 2 years. I think I have a little feeling in the flap and almost think I can feel the upper roof of my moth with the flap ..no taste there but some on the side of the flap where there is a small portion of original tongue. I was interested also if anyone gets more feelings after a time and if the numbness and pins & needles subside. Speach is better but I still feel like people think I am retarded. I asked my husband if singing my fav songs might be like a therapy and he laughed ..I asked why he laughed and he said he can;t imagine with my speach me being able to sing. But then said some people with speach impediments could sing so maybe??