About Surgery

My husband has squamous cell cancer at the  base of his tongue. I would like to know if anyone here has or had the same type and if you had surgery on your tongue. If so, what was it like, can you speak and eat? Surgery is not an option for him. He will not have surgery, but I am curious.

Thank You,

Corinne

On 2/13/2007 Aremid wrote:

My husband has squamous cell cancer at the  base of his tongue. I would like to know if anyone here has or had the same type and if you had surgery on your tongue. If so, what was it like, can you speak and eat? Surgery is not an option for him. He will not have surgery, but I am curious.

Thank You,

Corinne

Depends upon how much of the tongue they take. I had a pie shaped wedge taken on the side of mine and they stiched it up and I ended up with the tongue slanting a bit to the right. Tough to eat for the first 3 days, liquids only but as the swelling went down a week or so it was manageable, small bits and slow and no spicey foods. Mouth heals very quickly, the most pain i had was from the neck disection to check lymph nodes which were clean

On 4/9/2007 Jeff2159 wrote:

 

On 2/13/2007 Aremid wrote:

My husband has squamous cell cancer at the  base of his tongue. I would like to know if anyone here has or had the same type and if you had surgery on your tongue. If so, what was it like, can you speak and eat? Surgery is not an option for him. He will not have surgery, but I am curious.

Thank You,

Corinne

Depends upon how much of the tongue they take. I had a pie shaped wedge taken on the side of mine and they stiched it up and I ended up with the tongue slanting a bit to the right. Tough to eat for the first 3 days, liquids only but as the swelling went down a week or so it was manageable, small bits and slow and no spicey foods. Mouth heals very quickly, the most pain i had was from the neck disection to check lymph nodes which were clean

Thank you for replying. You didn't say anything about being able to talk. Was or is it hard to talk?

Corinne

On 4/9/2007 Aremid wrote:

 

On 4/9/2007 Jeff2159 wrote:

 

On 2/13/2007 Aremid wrote:

My husband has squamous cell cancer at the  base of his tongue. I would like to know if anyone here has or had the same type and if you had surgery on your tongue. If so, what was it like, can you speak and eat? Surgery is not an option for him. He will not have surgery, but I am curious.

Thank You,

Corinne

Depends upon how much of the tongue they take. I had a pie shaped wedge taken on the side of mine and they stiched it up and I ended up with the tongue slanting a bit to the right. Tough to eat for the first 3 days, liquids only but as the swelling went down a week or so it was manageable, small bits and slow and no spicey foods. Mouth heals very quickly, the most pain i had was from the neck disection to check lymph nodes which were clean

 

Thank you for replying. You didn't say anything about being able to talk. Was or is it hard to talk?

Corinne

 2 weeks (I think as its been 10 years) no problem talking except I had a slight lisp which slowly went away as my mouth and speech adjusted. I was lucky as I said I only had a wedge taken out. I caught my problem early as I had a lesion for 5 years that never went away and I had cut and biopsied 3 separate times but always came back until last  time it turned into the big C. I was clean for 5 years but it has come back 2 times the past 5 years but i stay on top of it and see my doctor every 3-6 months or whenever i think i have a problem