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Partner having neck dissection soon. Has anyone had this?

Lump24
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Hi 

I am new to the group, my partner is recovering from a tonsillectormy after cancer was found in his lymph node on his neck, therefore to confirm primary tonsillectomy was required.

He is 12 days post op and doing really well, we have been to see the ENT surgeon today who confirmed the op went well and margins are clear except on the bottom after analysis they want him to go back in to this area and remove further tissue although the surgeon thought this area looked clear as well. 

They also confirmed they need to remove all lymph nodes on the right side of his neck and we are now awaiting a date for this which should be in the next couple of weeks, the surgeon is hopeing he is hoping he will not need any further treatment after the neck dissection. 

Unsure if anyone else has been in a similar positon? i was kind of expecting he would need treatment rather than an op or even both but still not sure at this stage.

Thanks 

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    Hello there,

    Sorry to hear of your partner's & your troubles.

    I avoided further treatment after a right sided tonsillectomy & subsequent right neck dissection and again, 9 months later, after an unrelated left sided tonsillectomy and neck dissection.

    Clear margins were achieved in each tonsil area and none of the lymph node tissue removed revealed signs of cancer. As a result, opting out of further treatment was deemed a risk worth taking by 3 different ENT consultants in 3 different countries.

    It was due to unusual circumstances in both cases that I went down this path, but it's been 3.5 years since the 2nd operation with no recurrence. But like I said, my neck lymph nodes were cancer free.

    Can I ask how they diagnosed cancer in the lymph node?

    Best wishes 

    Tim

  • Offline in reply to Umit

    Hi Tim

    Glad to hear you are doing well  

    So it all started with a swelling on his neck that came up overnight, from there he had biopsy on the swollen lymph, then his MRI and from this they were still unable to detect the primary so did a pet scan which revealed some activity on the tonsils 

    Fingers crossed surgery does the trick just have to take each step at a time focus on next op then the anxiety heightens for the appointment that follows 

  • Offline in reply to Umit

    Meant to add he has recovered well from the first op how was your neck dissection recovery?

  • Offline in reply to Lump24

    Hi,

    Neck dissection recovery was not painful like the tonsillectomy. 

    The swelling subsides pretty quickly.

    Good luck.

    Tim

     

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