I hope this isn't a dumb question but .....If getting a lateral neck dissection is removing the cancer, then what is the down side of that? The mass in my neck is 3cm, wouldn't it be a good thing to "get it out?" What are the bad side effects of having a neck dissection?

Nothing you can't handle Ron,, I had one on aug 3rd and it's starting to feel a little better now. Sure it hurts and lets you know you had it, but it's bearable. I get one on the other side soon and rad seed implants too. Damn cancer is back on bith sides of my tobgue andin my throat, but I'll whip it's butt again.

Ron,

I think the most important thing is that you are getting treatment recommendations at a comprehensive cancer center. Our private practice ENT wanted to do a neck dissection immediately and told us that AFTER that healed we'd have to find our own radiation oncologist and medical oncologist to complete the treatment.

When we went to a cancer center, my husband was evaluated individually by each member of the team and then they met and came up with a comprehensive treatment plan.

In my husband's case, they said that they have 3 weapons to fight this cancer...surgery, chemo and radiation. We were also told that when they feel they can successfully fight the cancer with 1 or 2 of the 3 weapons, then they don't want to put the patient through more than is necessary.

There are several instances where a patient does endure all three. However, I just hope that you've had your consult with the whole team instead of a private practice ENT before you make the decision.

In my husband's case, they said that the surgery wouldn't get rid of the micro mets that were already in his system due to the fact that the cancer had traveled to the lymph nodes. So, there was no avoiding the two big guns, which were chemo and radiation, even if he had endured the surgery.

Have you had a full consult with a surgeon, radiation oncologist and medical oncologist?

The down side of a neck dissection is, well, neck surgery. Mine was bilateral, even though there was no evidence of diseases on the left. I had a 3 cm node on the right. The neck dissection was the first thing they did.

The surgery itself was not nearly as bad as I thought. I was taken up to the ER about 4 PM, and was in my room by 6:30. They had to take special precautions with me, because I had a 2 level neck fusion 2 months earlier. On the bright side, they had an incision line to start with.

The first night I was pretty much out of it, with morphine IV for pain. However, next morning they switched me to less dramatic pain meds. Tell your relatives to be prepared, as they usually do not put a dressing over the incision. I had 3 drains in. By noon of next day, I was up and around, eating regular diet, carrying my drains with me as I went. Depending upon whether they want to discharge you with drains or not, anywhere from 2 -4 nights in the hospital is customary.

Long term, expect a "wooden" feeling in the neck, and tightness as nerves start to reconnect. This will be exacerbated by radiation treatment. All in all, very doable though.

Let us know what else you need to know.

Ron,

I went to 5 different cancer docs and basically had 5 different Tx plans. Three of the 5 included either a radical or partial ND and 2 didn't. I went with Moffitt, a CCC, and they were of the same opinion as Margaret's post above. They also told me that they could also do the ND post Tx but they didn't think that would be necessary IN MY CASE. Keep asking questions of your cancer docs and get other opinions. We can't answer this question for you, we can only tell you what OUR experiences were.

The one thing I remember the best is on the 5th day, one of the Drs told me he was gonna remove the tube coming out from the side of me neck. He said it will feel just like a Bee sting, LOL more like a whole swarm of bees stinging at one time. It felt like he was pulling from my toes to my neck. It didn't pain for long tho, just a few minutes.

Rob had a bilateral neck dissection,radical on one side and modified on the other.They removed a 5 cm tumour from his submandibular gland and 62 lymph nodes.He went down for surgery at 11am and was out at 7.30 pm.He had 53 staples going from under his left ear to under his right ear,and two drains,one each side.He was home within 36 hours with both drains removed,enjoyed a beer and a hearty sunday lunch and was back at work a week later.Of all the treatment he had,this was the easiest part.

I've had two modified ND, right then left, four years apart. The first took 6 hours, the second was with other major surgery so I don't know how long the ND took. I had just stitches the first time and only one clamp and the rest stitches the second time, only one drain each time. In hospital 4 days, back to work after 8 first time which was too soon. I weakened the shoulder muscles and spent lots of time in PT getting put back together. I had no shoulder trouble on the second one. As Liz says, this surgery was the easiest part.

It appears that they are doing them less these days and relying on rad and chemo to kill it. Personally, on the first one, I just wanted the bad node out of my neck before it got anywhere else. The second one was precautionary and no infected nodes were found. How much trouble you have after the surgery will depend on what nerves and muscles they need to cut. If you are at a CCC, then I would follow their advice, but you probably should get a second opinion if you are in doubt.

Take care,
Eileen