In the summer of 2011 I had a selective neck dissection on the left side. The surgery left me with a 10 inch 'L' shaped scar running from behind my left ear, down the side of my neck and then across the middle of my throat to just above my Adams apple.
In total, I had about 15 staples in the wound which healed pretty quickly. Apart from obvious discomfort, I never really had any pain, apart from the removal of the drains which did make me wince somewhat for a couple of minutes. The only real terror is looking at yourself in the mirror for the first time in the hospital - but that soon wears off and the scar and swelling quickly fade away.
So, if your reading this in trepidation of any similar impending surgery then grit your teeth and carry on - it is doable.
Last week (28th) I had a modified radical neck dissection on my right side. I was told that this was more extensive surgery and they certainly got that right. I now have a 12inch scar running from behind my right ear,down to my collar bone, across and then up towards the middle of my throat - about 45 staples in there.
Prior to surgery, I had developed a lump under my chin which grew to the size of a tangerine in just 4/5 weeks. I had to have this taken out which meant cutting a section of my pectoral skin/muscle out as a 'flap' and then putting that under my chin to replace the lost tissue/skin. This flap being a little smaller than the palm of an average sized man's hand. About 30 stitches in my chin flap, and 40 staples in the ensuing 'L' shaped cut in my chest. With me so far ?
7 days out from surgery ,I know I'm tempting fate by saying this . . .but I don't feel too bad. Yes, I do look like I've been attacked with a machete but I'm just grateful all went well and the nerves controlling my speech/swallowing were largely unaffected.
I feel very stiff, my shoulder is very weak,my tongue movement a little restricted (which has mildly affected my speech and like last time I'm hoping this is temporary) but again I'm not in any pain.
In hospital, on day 2, I had a little pain in my shoulder ( as apparently more of the nerve controlling the shoulder is exposed during this procedure), but this was quickly dealt with by paracetamol which is the only medication I've had since.
Removal of the first drain on day 3 did make me wince for about 3/4 minutes, but numbness took care of any pain on removal of the second drain on day 4.
The biggest source of discomfort I found was an inability to pass water on day 1 into the morning of day 2 after surgery. I can laugh at it now . .but it wasn't funny at the time.24 hrs after surgery this all corrected itself - otherwise it would have been a catheter and I think that would have made me bring out my wimpy scream.
This post is long enough as it is so I'll draw this ditty to a close. If you have this surgery on the horizon, then again. . .it is doable.
If you've had it done, I'd appreciate any feedback on flap management and/or their susceptibility to radiotherapy.

Brendan, you have done well and seem to be coping well. Please push for some physiotherapy for yourself as those shoulders can become troublesome if they are not kept loose and moving .
I can't speak to the radiation to the flap but know that someone will come along shortly.
Take care,
Tammy

I had a radical neck dissection in 2011 six months after radiation. Had two more neck dissection surgeries thereafter, same side, one including HD-IORT, and a pectoral flap, then Chemoradiation for 6 weeks. I really have no problem with pain, but lack of feeling on my neck, and a little mobility impairment raising my left arm fully overhead, and no tissue failure. As far as Reirridation, it is susceptible to more tissue failure, healing problems, nerve damage, carotid blow out, than unradiated tissue, but the pec flap brings in radiated tissue there under the chin if you need it there. The other areas can be Reirridatied, and dosage depends on how much radiation you had before, and where you received it. To kill most cancers in the H&N it has to be above 50Gy. Unacceptable toxicities begin after 75 Gy, but there are ways to deliver more with split daily radiation, brachytherapy, IORT, IMRT, IGRT, and stereotactic radiation like Cyberknife, and is being done more often depending on your doctors or hospitals experience. For reiiridation it will be more specific, and depends on the structure radiated what are the acceptable levels, and risks involved. I hope this helps.