My husband had part of his tongue removed and 19 lymph nodes in one side of his neck removed about 5 weeks ago. How long should his face be swelling? It is really good, and then the next day, it is swollen again. also the same with his tongue. I am brand new at this posting discussion thing, so hopefully I can figure out how to see your response. Thanks.

Hello, It isn't unusual for swelling to be a problem for a while yet. Try putting boards under the matress to elevate his head a few inches. Also there is a massage tecnique that will help the lymph flow. It is done with the finger tips and gentle pressure. kind of a stroking motion in the direction the lymph flow should be (downward towards the chest).

Swelling can be a problem and Mark makes some good suggestions. Be sure to mention this to your husbands doctor also.

The physio started working on my neck at about four weeks, stretching and mobilizing scar tissue and massaging for lymph drainage. Best of all she taught me how to do it myself. Four months plus after a radical neck dissection and some great physio help there is still a small amount of swelling that will likely be permanent because of the extended nature of my surgery.
As Mark noted, elevating the head of the bed is a good thing for drainage.
Hope you have a physio referral in your hand soon.
All the best, Fran B.

If it is determined that your husband's problem is from lymph accumulation you should look into finding a lymphedema therapist. These people do exist as my physical therapist was also a ymphedema specialist. Lyphedema is a common problem after lymph node removal and one that can be solved with proper massage techniques as the members above have mentioned. The basic technique is to get the lymph over to the other side of the neck so that it can then drain naturally.

It is best to have this demonstrated to you and your husband rather than to try to learn it here.

I also had a stage I tongue squamous cell (with 30 lymph nodes removed). Sounds like a similar situation to your husband. If you or he would like to speak with me about this or any other aspects of his situation, send an email or private message with your phone number and I'll give you a call.

Jerry

My husband is now 7 weeks out from end of IMRT treatment at Moffit Cancer Center in Florida. He seemed to be having a relatively easy time of it through treatment. Had the peg, but never needed to use it. Didn't lose any weight. Drove himself to treatments up through Week 6. At 3 weeks out, rad oncologist said he was doing great, better than average. However, then his father (who had been in a nursing home for a year) became very ill and died and he seemed to stop improving much during the next 3 week period. This week, after more pressure to start the trimonthly dental visits, he had his teeth cleaned. He now has a very sore throat, can't swallow as well as he could last week, and feels just rundown overall. Also, had a f/u visit with his surgeon last week as well and was told he needs to wait a while longer before trying massage therapy for the swelling in his neck. Any thoughts about what could be happening here?