healing after neck dissection

Hi,
My mom is having the neck dissection in Boston in February. Is there is anything you can tell her
about how she will feel when she wakes up? She is afraid of the tracheotomy & feeding tube.
Thanks,
Cheryl

Hey! I had one too 2/12 yrs ago!!! As far as for the stiffness....cancer has now afforded you to the wonderful world of massages!! You will need a neck massge alot! I still do/ if I yawn a big one I get a cramp in the left side of my neck. My neck disection was done on the right. However,if they cut your nerves then you will at times have a itch that you can't scratch...that's normal. That is a nerve thing going on. You will always have a stiff neck on whatever side they disected. When you consider the alternative....deal with it cause your here. It is a long slow process but keep the faith it will not seem so bad later. Do neck exercises too. Do this for all the other muscles. Anything I can help with just let me know. I've been there, done that have a closet full of the the t-shirts....Relay for lIfe ones that is..

From my experience the swelling should dissipate in 3-4 months...I used vitamin E to promote healing on the incisions. The stiffness will be long lasting..really tight for 6-12 months depending on what your doing with your neck position. When cleared by the Dr for PT, do your stretches!...head side to side, etc. That will help tremendously. It's been 5 yrs for me and my neck is still tight if I lean my head away from the side of the dissection. You've gone through alot of trauma, give yourself a break and focus on healing.

Radiation will also have it's affects, usually scarring the muscle tissue which adds to the stiffness (can't use any lotions or E salves during radiation treatment). Take care and remember that "every day is a good one, some are better than others". Guy

Kskokko said:

thanks

I had the neck disection five weeks ago and was getting concerned.    THe posts all tell me this will take months for the swelling and stiffness to go down.

 

 

welcome

Kskokko,

Welcome to the H&N forum, sorry that you are here.

Mine was a jugular vein dissection to remove a pesky lymph gland, my healing was without much fan fair and with limited pain.  Many on here have the whole neck dissection and can probably more relate to you.

A good plan is to start a new thread and introduce yourself and ask your questions. This is one of the oldest threads I have seen brought up, I doubt that any of the members will ever see your post and few will respond.

Matt

tyweb said:

I HAD MODIFIED NECK DISSECTION 11 MOS. AGO THEN RADIATION IMPLANTS THE RECOVERY WAS SLOW ,BUT 3 MOS. AGO I RETURNED TO A CAREER IN CONSTRUCTION SO DON'T LOSE FAITH.

June 6th

Hi there. Surgery is June 6th for me. Same surgery but radiation iodine pill instead of implants. Will you please share your experience of waking up after surgery and recovery with me? I am very concerned about the drain tubes. You did not have a breathing tube while awake, did you? This is my 4th surgery in 2 years so I am not new to the game but am so glad to speak with someone who has gone through it!

Thank you

johnsonbl said:

First a recommendation...

I'd start a new thread/question for more responses.  Sometimes these older threads the new posts get buried and people don't see them.

At any rate, I had a left side neck disection a couple years ago.  I had a drain that came out 2-3 days later.  No breathing tube while awake.  No feeding tube at all.  Honestly, the healing of the disection wasn't bad.  The removal of the drain was the worst part.  It will extend from your neck likely all the way up behind your ear.  They just give it a good firm pull and it slides out...but if it's started to heal too much it hurts pretty bad, not gonna lie.  Key is to get it removed sooner rather than later.

You'll likely end up with some numbness and stiffness in your neck that you will deal with for a long time.  But PT and exercise can help out a lot with that.

Good luck.

 

Brandon

Thank you!

Exactly what I wanted to hear. Mine will also be on the left. I feel so much better after reading your reply. I was so hesitant to even join but so glad I did. I will try to figure out how to start a new thread. Thank you, again!

 

Sabrina23 said:

Glossectomy and Neck Dissection

I have just been diagnosed with Stage 1 tongue cancer - will I die soon?  I am scared and afraid.  What are the things I can expect? Do I need radiation?  Please tell me anything that woudl be helpful.  I don't want to die.

If you are new here it would

If you are new here it would probably be best to start a new thread - introduce yourself and tell everyone all the specifics.  You'll get more response that way.  Seeing as how everyone here has undergone treatment for oral cancer from stage I thru stage IV, and are still here discussing it, I think it's safe to say you will live to talk about your experince, too.  Just realx.