I am going to have a parotid mass removed and want to know what I can expect fro!
Question: I am going to have a parotid mass removed and want to know what I can expect from the surgery and recovery?
It is not deep, but it is large. Luckily though, it has not grown around or behind the facial nerve, and he wants to remove it before it gets to that point.
I am having surgery next Thursday. What kind of side effects am I going to have from the surgery? I know the scar will be large, but he said I might need a tube inserted for drainage?
If anyone has had this, I am just curious what the recovery is like? Thank you!
Answers:
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
I had a similar growth on the left side that I recently got removed. It was under my ear, directly behind my jaw bone. The surgery itself took about four hours and included an incision around the earlobe and down about two inches. The scar is visible because of my short hair, but it's very neat and not obvious.
After the surgery I stayed in hospital for about a week. There was a tube for drainage with a small bottle at the end. This was to prevent blood pooling near the area. I got an IV of Saline for a day or two until I started eating.
There was minor ache around that spot afterward, but it usually wasn't too bad. I was told to take Tylenol for any pain and was prescribed Tylenol with Codeine to help me sleep (which I never took).
The most prominent after-effect was numbness in my ear. To perform the removal, the doctor had to disconnect the facial nerves from my ear. He said they would grow back fully about 6 to 8 months after the operation. I had this done in November, and so far feeling has started coming back slowly. He also warned that there's a chance of partial to full facial paralysis, but it's highly unlikely. If anything were to happen, it would most likely be the outer muscle of the mouth, making it droop slightly on one side. Since you mentioned that it wasn't behind the facial nerve, it might be that you won't come across this problem, but if you do lose feeling in and around your ear, be sure to protect that area from the cold if you're outside.