Has any one had oral surgery due to cancer. Did you have reconstruction too.?!
Question: we would like to know what to expect from this surgery and reconstruction. Jim has cancer of the buccal mucosa that is the area at the bottom of the mouth between the cheek and gum.
Answers: we would like to know what to expect from this surgery and reconstruction. Jim has cancer of the buccal mucosa that is the area at the bottom of the mouth between the cheek and gum.
My grandma had bone cancer in her lower right jawbone. She had the bone removed and rebuilt using a section of bone from her lower leg.
3 years later, she is doing very well. She has a very notable scar from her chin down her neck but it looks very good for the amount of surgery they did. Her biggest complication was physical therapy for her leg; she had some kind of muscular problem afterwards that caused her toes to curl under.
Her lip on that side of her mouth still droops and she feels very self conscious about eating and often covers her mouth while doing so. Her teeth are also exposed quite a bit on that side. She says she always has to have gum in her mouth because her mouth gets really dry now. And she complains about drooling uncontrolably at times.
What type of cancer is he facing? It makes a difference, especially if this is a sarcoma. A sarcoma is far more difficult to treat and should only be handled by a sarcoma specialist or sarcoma surgeon.
If it is not sarcoma, than you might want to check with an online support group found at ACOR (Association of Cancer online Resources) for Head and Neck Cancers. Usually the group provides support as well as share information about current treatment options including surgeries. They would be able to best advise you:
The HEAD & NECK Cancers Online Support Group
http://listserv.acor.org/archives/head-n...
Best of luck.