Hints for recovering from dissection

DrMary
DrMary Member Posts: 531 Member
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Well, we're at that point - PET/CT next week and (unless hot spots show up on that) the ENT is going to do a selective neck dissection the following week to remove the remains of the branchial cleft cyst that was the secondary tumor, along with surrounding lymph nodes, for biopsy. They have no reason to think they will find cancer in the lymph nodes, as they did not show up on the PET/CT scans before radiation and chemo, but since they are going to go in for the cyst, they want to make sure.

Hints and tips for the best recovery?

Comments

  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member
    #2
    Keep the hospital gown
    the front pocket is great for holding the drain bottle and dose not rub on the neck area. Also you might ask what pain medicine will be prescribed and if possible get it ahead of time. It seems that the liquid stuff is not kept on hand in great quantities and that is probably what you will get. My selective was the easiest part of the treatment, no comparison to radiation or chemo. The actual operation on a selective without complications isn't too bad. I went in early morning and was home before midnight same day. You can view them on You-tube. You will be measuring drain fluid for a couple of days in the drain bottle and recording amounts for doctor.
  • Hal61
    Hal61 Member Posts: 655
    #3
    Dissection
    Hi DrMary and Doug, I had my dissection in July 2010. Fifteen nodes removed on left side. I had already done chemo and rads and had a borderline reading at the 6-month point. I can't remember the numbers, but I was a (I think) 3.1, just barely above the normal. My rad onc said it was probably up that minimal amount from the treatment, but my med onc and ENT encouraged me to have the dissection in case. And three nodes clustered around the original tumor came back with traces. The same cells were also necrotic, but I'm glad I had it done.

    I did one night in the hospital. My drain plugs were taken out before I left the hospital so I didn't have to deal with them at home. I still have some edema at the site. I also still have numbness in the area that may persist for life. No big. The muscles have rearranged my bone articulation. My collarbone is pronounced, my scalpula? (shoulder blade) has migrated up, and I have some soreness and aching occasionally. Get you pain meds for the first few days, and tell Doug not to hit the weights to build up the area too soon, as that can pull and confuse muscle and nerve that need time to reconnect.

    I didn't have much bad pain after the first few days. The only thing that smarted was when the drain plugs were removed when I left the hospital, which only lasted a few seconds.

    best of luck, Hal
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #4
    Hal61 said:

    Dissection
    Hi DrMary and Doug, I had my dissection in July 2010. Fifteen nodes removed on left side. I had already done chemo and rads and had a borderline reading at the 6-month point. I can't remember the numbers, but I was a (I think) 3.1, just barely above the normal. My rad onc said it was probably up that minimal amount from the treatment, but my med onc and ENT encouraged me to have the dissection in case. And three nodes clustered around the original tumor came back with traces. The same cells were also necrotic, but I'm glad I had it done.

    I did one night in the hospital. My drain plugs were taken out before I left the hospital so I didn't have to deal with them at home. I still have some edema at the site. I also still have numbness in the area that may persist for life. No big. The muscles have rearranged my bone articulation. My collarbone is pronounced, my scalpula? (shoulder blade) has migrated up, and I have some soreness and aching occasionally. Get you pain meds for the first few days, and tell Doug not to hit the weights to build up the area too soon, as that can pull and confuse muscle and nerve that need time to reconnect.

    I didn't have much bad pain after the first few days. The only thing that smarted was when the drain plugs were removed when I left the hospital, which only lasted a few seconds.

    best of luck, Hal

    Hi DrMary

    I never did it but will keep you both in my thoughts wishing you the best of luck.

    Hondo
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #5
    Hondo said:

    Hi DrMary

    I never did it but will keep you both in my thoughts wishing you the best of luck.

    Hondo

    Wow I spent three or four
    Wow I spent three or four days in the hospital when I had my modified radical dissection. Could be because of my FA. They wanted me to have the drain out before I went home. They had me in an icu type room that first night as well to watch me closely. Anyway my two cents would be to make sure you get proper physical therapy so that you have the best neck and arm mobility possible. I'm still in daily pain with my neck but I never seem to be the easy typical case with anything. Lol. Guess it's just part of the magic of me. :)
  • MarineE5
    MarineE5 Member Posts: 1,034 Member
    #6
    As the others have mentioned
    DrMary,

    Just as the others have mentioned, make sure he stays ahead of any pain with the correct pain med's. Find a few over sized shirts with pockets and have the drain tube bottles rest in the pocket. Made a world of difference moving about the house easier, even when I went for my follow up visits to the Surgeon's office. I mentioned over sized so that the collar doesn't rub around the incision site.

    I slept in a recliner at first until my wife bought a foam wedge to use in bed along with a pillow. I had the drain tubes for roughly 12 days. I had a Radical neck disection.

    My Best to You and Everyone Here
  • Neckcancerchick
    Neckcancerchick Member Posts: 10
    #7
    MarineE5 said:

    As the others have mentioned
    DrMary,

    Just as the others have mentioned, make sure he stays ahead of any pain with the correct pain med's. Find a few over sized shirts with pockets and have the drain tube bottles rest in the pocket. Made a world of difference moving about the house easier, even when I went for my follow up visits to the Surgeon's office. I mentioned over sized so that the collar doesn't rub around the incision site.

    I slept in a recliner at first until my wife bought a foam wedge to use in bed along with a pillow. I had the drain tubes for roughly 12 days. I had a Radical neck disection.

    My Best to You and Everyone Here

    Hope this response is not too late
    I had my 1st neck dissection October 2009, I was 15 weeks pregnant when I had it so I am not sure if I was less pain sensitive or not? but mine was not too bad they removed about 51 nodes from my neck and the drain was a pain in the butt, there was another tube that was in my neck too and it was horrible I felt like I could not move around. My second dissection was in July 2010 that was a breeze, the only bad part is afterward I got Lymphadema and my face is swelling up, the Dr keeps telling me to go to physical therapy but I am not sure what that can do for me? But really for me it was easy! As a matter of fact the Doctor was amazed by my positive attitude but really it was ok and I am not ok with pain at all! Good luck with your procedure, just remember to stay positive and pray, you always have a friend in God and prayer!!! God bless
  • Neckcancerchick
    Neckcancerchick Member Posts: 10
    #8
    Hal61 said:

    Dissection
    Hi DrMary and Doug, I had my dissection in July 2010. Fifteen nodes removed on left side. I had already done chemo and rads and had a borderline reading at the 6-month point. I can't remember the numbers, but I was a (I think) 3.1, just barely above the normal. My rad onc said it was probably up that minimal amount from the treatment, but my med onc and ENT encouraged me to have the dissection in case. And three nodes clustered around the original tumor came back with traces. The same cells were also necrotic, but I'm glad I had it done.

    I did one night in the hospital. My drain plugs were taken out before I left the hospital so I didn't have to deal with them at home. I still have some edema at the site. I also still have numbness in the area that may persist for life. No big. The muscles have rearranged my bone articulation. My collarbone is pronounced, my scalpula? (shoulder blade) has migrated up, and I have some soreness and aching occasionally. Get you pain meds for the first few days, and tell Doug not to hit the weights to build up the area too soon, as that can pull and confuse muscle and nerve that need time to reconnect.

    I didn't have much bad pain after the first few days. The only thing that smarted was when the drain plugs were removed when I left the hospital, which only lasted a few seconds.

    best of luck, Hal

    Hey
    Hal what type of cancer did you have? I see your replies and it seems your posts are like mine! I had a partial glousectomy and a left neck dissection in October 2009, tongue cancer and then another right neck dissection in July of 2010, this time it turned out to be neck cancer, my cancer is a tricky cancer because it was in 1 spot and then returned in another, I am a little over a month out of treatment, I did 33 rads and 7 treatments of sisplatin for the chemo, I lost a weird patch of hair in the back of my head, I lost 30 lbs so far and every day I lose more which is not a big deal for me I am over weight anyway so it's ok but I was able to eat and now I can't it is so weird, I am turned off by the look of food, I go to eat and I get sick, I drink allot of water as I have severe dry mouth, now I have pain in my neck and side my personal Dr sent me for X-rays the other day and my neck is a mess because the bones are shrinking, so he wants me to go to PT and I too have lymphadema and my neck and chin are BFF and I have to go for PT for that too! I am going to force myself to eat tomorrow but I feel like maybe my throat got smaller and the sores are more painful now that they are smaller?
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #9
    Be a Patient Patient
    Had my modified radical neck dissection (right side) a month ago; went home three days later (they told me up front I'd be there three days, maybe two, and that I might wake up in ICU - I did). Nothing went wrong; the ICU was so I'd be monitored more closely - I was moved to a regular room the next day. I was not mentally prepared to have difficulty swallowing after the operation - it was a nasty surprise. I failed my bedside swallowing tests, and doc told me we might have to talk about a new temporary feeding tube if I continued to fail. Luckily, after a day on steroids and being shown a different way to hold my head, swallowing improved enough for me to get the OK to eat soft foods (yes, I WAS sweating that one).

    I was really nervous about the NO food and NO WATER for a day after the surgery. I told my family that I hoped I could sleep the day away. I did get some ice chips at first, then that was taken when I failed swallowing tests. You know you're thirsty and hungry when the modified barium swallow items taste good. You shouldn't expect to need this - my docs and I were surprised I had issues. Still not swallowing as good as I did before the operation, but certainly good enough to get in PLENTY of calories of solid food. My voice, too, did not fare as well as was expected. It has made a lot of improvement in the last ten days, though.

    On the pain front, I did not take any pain medicine at home; my pain was (and is) mild enough for me to not need medicine. I did find, though that the pain was "less mild" a couple days after I'd gone home - I guess because I moved more or something. I now do some light stretching for my neck and arm/shoulder. Ratface did warn me that driving would be a little tricky with limited neck/shoulder movement. This, I will say, can be irritating (backing up, switching lanes).

    I didn't try heating pads or ice packs, but the warm shower water still feels great. If he is a side sleeper, you may want to request extra pillows at the hospital, so he can put them under his armms (this helped me to stay on my back). You might also want to buy some no rinse shampoo from the drugstore - I was not allowed to shower when I first came home, and relied on bath wipes and the no rinse shampoo for grooming - in the hospital, I used a "shampoo cap".

    Here's hoping the PET shows what the docs expect next week. Hope he does well. And hope he's less impatient than I am when it comes to recovery.
  • kingcole42005
    kingcole42005 Member Posts: 178
    #10
    Hi Dr. Mary,
    My surgery was alot different it seems then many here on the board. I had the left floor of my mouth excised and a graft and a neck dissection. They also moved a muscle over under my neck to fill in the hole left by the excision. I was in the hospital for 10 days, so I don't know about home treatment. The nurses did all the care with the drain etc. I know I was in alot of pain and still am. Very, very sore on my neck but I can handle it. I don't know if it was because of the dissection or moving of the muscle but under my chin is completely numb and will not come back. Also they told me to expect arm pain as they cut through the nerves. I think they said to even expect weakness in my arm, but none of that ever happened. They gave me a list of exercises to do, but I didn't need them. I wish you all the best and hope your husband has a very speed recovery. Take care, Shelly
  • adamson091654
    adamson091654 Member Posts: 16
    #11
    kingcole42005 said:

    Hi Dr. Mary,
    My surgery was alot different it seems then many here on the board. I had the left floor of my mouth excised and a graft and a neck dissection. They also moved a muscle over under my neck to fill in the hole left by the excision. I was in the hospital for 10 days, so I don't know about home treatment. The nurses did all the care with the drain etc. I know I was in alot of pain and still am. Very, very sore on my neck but I can handle it. I don't know if it was because of the dissection or moving of the muscle but under my chin is completely numb and will not come back. Also they told me to expect arm pain as they cut through the nerves. I think they said to even expect weakness in my arm, but none of that ever happened. They gave me a list of exercises to do, but I didn't need them. I wish you all the best and hope your husband has a very speed recovery. Take care, Shelly

    Had mine at Johns Hopkins
    I had my disection at Johns Hopkins by Dr. Koch (live in Richmond, VA but from Baltimore.) It went great. I had a tumor below my right ear in my neck. It was attached to lymph-nodes. The drain was a bother but only had it for a week. Had to leep on my back. The scare is healing well (from chin to ear.) It sometimes feel like I have a lump still over there but I think it is the pulling of the skin. Now I start my treatment (rads and chemo) on 2/3. I wish you the best...
  • Joel4
    Joel4 Member Posts: 263 Member
    #12
    adamson091654 said:

    Had mine at Johns Hopkins
    I had my disection at Johns Hopkins by Dr. Koch (live in Richmond, VA but from Baltimore.) It went great. I had a tumor below my right ear in my neck. It was attached to lymph-nodes. The drain was a bother but only had it for a week. Had to leep on my back. The scare is healing well (from chin to ear.) It sometimes feel like I have a lump still over there but I think it is the pulling of the skin. Now I start my treatment (rads and chemo) on 2/3. I wish you the best...

    Neck Dissection
    I had a radical left neck dissection and tonsillectomy. Honestly, the tonsils hurt so bad I didn't notice pain in my neck.
    What shocked me though was how big the scar was and how much my appearance had changed. I had a huge divot in my neck and my doctor had not really prepared me for that. My wife nearly passed out and my kids were freaked out. The nerve damage affecting my mouth and shoulder was evident but no big deal.
    The scar healed very nicely and I hardly notice the divot anymore. My mouth is still a little uncooperative at times but my shoulder is 100%
    I wish you the best and will be praying for you!
  • kingcole42005
    kingcole42005 Member Posts: 178
    #13
    Joel4 said:

    Neck Dissection
    I had a radical left neck dissection and tonsillectomy. Honestly, the tonsils hurt so bad I didn't notice pain in my neck.
    What shocked me though was how big the scar was and how much my appearance had changed. I had a huge divot in my neck and my doctor had not really prepared me for that. My wife nearly passed out and my kids were freaked out. The nerve damage affecting my mouth and shoulder was evident but no big deal.
    The scar healed very nicely and I hardly notice the divot anymore. My mouth is still a little uncooperative at times but my shoulder is 100%
    I wish you the best and will be praying for you!

    I forgot the divot, mine has one too.
    I forgot the divot, mine has one too. People say they don't notice, yeah right. I have nerve damge to my mouth too,my smile is crooked but I thought it was from the nerve removal in the floor of my mouth? Didn't know it could be caused by dissection.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #14
    kingcole42005 said:

    I forgot the divot, mine has one too.
    I forgot the divot, mine has one too. People say they don't notice, yeah right. I have nerve damge to my mouth too,my smile is crooked but I thought it was from the nerve removal in the floor of my mouth? Didn't know it could be caused by dissection.

    Divot and mouth paralisys.
    I really hate it when people tell me they don't notice it. I mean, it's not like I even have any hair or any clothes covering it up. I feel that they are being disingenuous. Maybe they don't notice right away, but I think you would need to be blind not to notice. My speech was also effected by the radiation and I see people looking at my mouth all the time. I was at a friends party in october and I was drinking through a straw and a person their asked me why. I told them it was because of the slight paralisys and I can't get my neck tilted back to drink all the drink either. She looked at me and kept saying, I don't see anything. So I pointed to how my left side is a little lower and saggier than the right. She just kept saying, "I can't tell." And rolled her eyes like I was crazy.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #15
    kingcole42005 said:

    I forgot the divot, mine has one too.
    I forgot the divot, mine has one too. People say they don't notice, yeah right. I have nerve damge to my mouth too,my smile is crooked but I thought it was from the nerve removal in the floor of my mouth? Didn't know it could be caused by dissection.

    Divot and mouth paralisys.
    I really hate it when people tell me they don't notice it. I mean, it's not like I even have any hair or any clothes covering it up. I feel that they are being disingenuous. Maybe they don't notice right away, but I think you would need to be blind not to notice. My speech was also effected by the radiation and I see people looking at my mouth all the time. I was at a friends party in october and I was drinking through a straw and a person their asked me why. I told them it was because of the slight paralisys and I can't get my neck tilted back to drink all the drink either. She looked at me and kept saying, I don't see anything. So I pointed to how my left side is a little lower and saggier than the right. She just kept saying, "I can't tell." And rolled her eyes like I was crazy.

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