I am new to this forum and am looking for information from others who have experienced severe Trismus post radiation therapy.
My husband had his initial diagnosis of squamous cell Ca on his upper jaw and had reconstruction using his fibula in 2022, followed by radiation therapy. The bone replacement failed and was redone with his other fibula in 2024. He then had 2 follow up procedures due to progressive tightening of his mouth which have been unsuccessful.
Has anyone had success with this issue. We thank you in advance for any input/suggestions/experience.

Hello Barbaravs,

I lack any experience with that.

I did a quick search, after logging in, (the search feature is not available if you are not logged in to your account when browsing the forums).

https://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/200246/trismus-treatment#Post200246 (not sure if hyperlinks to forum posts work, TBT)

Is one where some folks were using tongue depressors to stretch the jaws open, going from one to two to three of them stacked at a time.

I guess they have devices for the stretching, but the one person was so severe they could not get the device in, so they had to start with tongue depressors.

You may have more luck browsing through the results of your own search of the forums for "Trismus" in the search window in the upper right corner of the screen.

It seems more folks are active on the Reddit forums for Head and Neck Cancer, in terms of getting a lot of responses, quicker.

The forums here on OCF have more depth and are more searchable.

Best wishes for a solution that works for your husband.

These folks mentioned botox shots, physical therapy, and a procedure to cut the muscle (last resort I am sure...)

https://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/183983/new-with-trismus#Post183983

One more thread that seems pertinent:

https://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/184457/trismus-and-teeth#Post184457