Bilateral neck dissection swelling

FRONT AND CENTER

Hey everyone!

Like many, I had the neck dissection to remove cancerous lymph nodes.  I had 2 cancerous nodes and they took out over 100 on each side.  Better safe than sorry?!

Anyhow, I have horrible swelling above my incision site.  I have taken herbal lymphatic drainage supplements but I still have swelling.  I visitied my doctor and he recommended massage.  I couldn't bring myself to even touch this foreign "leather pouch" that is now attached to front of my neck but once he showed me how to press on the area, I have been able to touch it and massage it.

Does anyone have recommendations for how to decrease this swelling?  Of course I'm upset about how it looks but it also feels constricting to my breathing in the morning.  Any good herbal supplements?  Massage techniques?

I also want to mention that my scar is starting to itch.  The neck area, in general, is itchy and at times, very sore.  Is this b/c of my massaging it?  How long does soreness last?  Itchyness?

Thank you!

Kelly

 

 

lorig01

Sorry you r going through

Sorry you r going through this. i had some lymphadema after my neck dissection. i think the thing that helped me the me the most is sleeping on a wedge pillow. Sleeping sitting in an upright position helps with draining. Also i started yoga about 6 months after trestment ended. the swelling went down over time and now my neck looks pretty good. i hopo u find some relief!

FRONT AND CENTER

lorig01 said:

Sorry you r going through

Sorry you r going through this. i had some lymphadema after my neck dissection. i think the thing that helped me the me the most is sleeping on a wedge pillow. Sleeping sitting in an upright position helps with draining. Also i started yoga about 6 months after trestment ended. the swelling went down over time and now my neck looks pretty good. i hopo u find some relief!

Thanks....

How long after your surgery did it take for swelling to go down?

I am a "stomach" sleeper so this laying on the back is bothersome but I'm learning!  Thanks for the wedge idea~

NelsonOng

FRONT AND CENTER said:

Thanks....

How long after your surgery did it take for swelling to go down?

I am a "stomach" sleeper so this laying on the back is bothersome but I'm learning!  Thanks for the wedge idea~

6 months for me

The fluid takes about 6 mths for me to get back in shape. I can understand it's quite ugly n uncomfortable and you really need to put in effort to massage and exercise tour neck very very often. As for me, my speech therapist taught me how to do the routine exercise I need to do 3 times a day but I bet I did many more than that.  As for massage, you may want to go to youtube and search for lymphoedema And self massage. I also exercise a lot as in running and in gym, and until today, I'm still doing my neck exercise.  As for your itch, is best that you ask your doctor.  As for myself, ever since I'm out of surgery, I apply aloe Vera on my healed wound and itch didn't occur..

Trust you will get better soon.  Feel free to ask more question and we will try to help.

Cheers.... Nelson

CivilMatt

massage

Kelly.

The Superthread (top of page) has an area on neck massage for edema.  It matches the massage technic my massage therapist used.  Usually, insurance will cover a number of visits.  They use a very light and gentle touch nothing to fear.  Wish I had signed up for more.

Good luck,

Matt

phrannie51

There are people out there

that specialize in lymphatic swelling massage.  Maybe going to see one of them, and have them get it moving along, you can pick up tips and tricks from that person on exactly what your particular swelling needs in the way of massage.  Mine took about 5 months to disappear, too....it was so gradual, that I didn't realize it was gone until one day I simply noticed it wasn't there any longer.

p

Guzzle

phrannie51 said:

There are people out there

that specialize in lymphatic swelling massage.  Maybe going to see one of them, and have them get it moving along, you can pick up tips and tricks from that person on exactly what your particular swelling needs in the way of massage.  Mine took about 5 months to disappear, too....it was so gradual, that I didn't realize it was gone until one day I simply noticed it wasn't there any longer.

p

Tape

If you google a blog 'Theo the radioactive man' by a guy whose recently been through this he uses surgical tape and massage in medical advice. He is a nice guy and if you want further detail you can leave a message on the blog. Ive had a neck dissection one side and stuck to physio and apart from numbness all good so far. Two weeks into radiotherapy and had first of 3 cisplatin. All good so far! Cheers, G.

ratface

Guzzle said:

Tape

If you google a blog 'Theo the radioactive man' by a guy whose recently been through this he uses surgical tape and massage in medical advice. He is a nice guy and if you want further detail you can leave a message on the blog. Ive had a neck dissection one side and stuck to physio and apart from numbness all good so far. Two weeks into radiotherapy and had first of 3 cisplatin. All good so far! Cheers, G.

get some professional massages

I recommend a regular bi-weekly massage from a trained therapist. It's a learned technique where room is first made in the lower extremities and then the fluid is moved along like a slinky toward that space. The touch is very light and soothing. I had perhaps a dozen sessions and it helped immensely. Insurance paid for all of them in my case. The best place to find a therapist is through breast cancer networks, Wound care centers, or even the lymphatic institute on the web. This is a common problem in Breast cancer patients. There are also a half dozen or so compression type garments made to reduce swelling that are worn during sleep. They range from simple to custom made and precise. There is a company named, "Solaris" in Wisconsin that makes several different types. They  are available for viewing on their website. The more elaborate garments need measurement and fittings which the massage therapist can do for you. As already stated most of it will be gone on it's own in about six months as the fluid makes new drainage pathways on it's own. Time here is key.

FRONT AND CENTER

ratface said:

get some professional massages

I recommend a regular bi-weekly massage from a trained therapist. It's a learned technique where room is first made in the lower extremities and then the fluid is moved along like a slinky toward that space. The touch is very light and soothing. I had perhaps a dozen sessions and it helped immensely. Insurance paid for all of them in my case. The best place to find a therapist is through breast cancer networks, Wound care centers, or even the lymphatic institute on the web. This is a common problem in Breast cancer patients. There are also a half dozen or so compression type garments made to reduce swelling that are worn during sleep. They range from simple to custom made and precise. There is a company named, "Solaris" in Wisconsin that makes several different types. They  are available for viewing on their website. The more elaborate garments need measurement and fittings which the massage therapist can do for you. As already stated most of it will be gone on it's own in about six months as the fluid makes new drainage pathways on it's own. Time here is key.

Thank you!

Looks like I have some work to do to find a trained therapist nearby as well as starting to massaging my own neck regularly.

I'm so glad to hear the swelling will do down; my doc assured me that it takes time and it WILL find alternative drainage routes but I want to speed the process along.  Deep breath and exhale..... You all are so helpful.  This site is a God-send.  Thank you.

And thank you for info about compression garments.  I'll look into those.

 

FRONT AND CENTER

ratface said:

get some professional massages

I recommend a regular bi-weekly massage from a trained therapist. It's a learned technique where room is first made in the lower extremities and then the fluid is moved along like a slinky toward that space. The touch is very light and soothing. I had perhaps a dozen sessions and it helped immensely. Insurance paid for all of them in my case. The best place to find a therapist is through breast cancer networks, Wound care centers, or even the lymphatic institute on the web. This is a common problem in Breast cancer patients. There are also a half dozen or so compression type garments made to reduce swelling that are worn during sleep. They range from simple to custom made and precise. There is a company named, "Solaris" in Wisconsin that makes several different types. They  are available for viewing on their website. The more elaborate garments need measurement and fittings which the massage therapist can do for you. As already stated most of it will be gone on it's own in about six months as the fluid makes new drainage pathways on it's own. Time here is key.

Thank you!

Looks like I have some work to do to find a trained therapist nearby as well as starting to massaging my own neck regularly.

I'm so glad to hear the swelling will do down; my doc assured me that it takes time and it WILL find alternative drainage routes but I want to speed the process along.  Deep breath and exhale..... You all are so helpful.  This site is a God-send.  Thank you.

And thank you for info about compression garments.  I'll look into those.