Recovery time?

Hello Steve,

In the neck are my husband had the surgery and they had to cut a nerve that works for the arm on that side.  He has range of motion issues and the strength is not as good as well.  He has trouble working if his arm is needed above his head which is frustrating to him.  He had this surgery 2 1/2 years ago and he still has issues.

Hope this helps.  But like you stated everyone is different.  As far as being able to spend the day on your feet that shouldn't be an issue, it will be more neck and arm range of motions.

Judy (loving wife of Gene)

Hello Steve,

In the neck are my husband had the surgery and they had to cut a nerve that works for the arm on that side.  He has range of motion issues and the strength is not as good as well.  He has trouble working if his arm is needed above his head which is frustrating to him.  He had this surgery 2 1/2 years ago and he still has issues.

Hope this helps.  But like you stated everyone is different.  As far as being able to spend the day on your feet that shouldn't be an issue, it will be more neck and arm range of motions.

Judy (loving wife of Gene)

Hello Steve,

In the neck are my husband had the surgery and they had to cut a nerve that works for the arm on that side.  He has range of motion issues and the strength is not as good as well.  He has trouble working if his arm is needed above his head which is frustrating to him.  He had this surgery 2 1/2 years ago and he still has issues.

Hope this helps.  But like you stated everyone is different.  As far as being able to spend the day on your feet that shouldn't be an issue, it will be more neck and arm range of motions.

Judy (loving wife of Gene)

Sorry you had to join us, Steve, but you came to the right place.

My melanoma was diagnosed by an enlarged lymph node in my parotid gland.  First surgery removed that lymph node and the gland.  Second surgery was a complete lymph node disection on the right side of my neck.  Recovery for me was mostly from the anesthetic but it probably took me a month or two before I felt good again – however I was in my 50's at the time…..old 🙂   Complete flexibility returned slowly – probably 6 months.  At this point, 8 years later, I have no issues with strength or movement.  There are some minor areas of numbness around my ear, but other than that there are no long term effects.   While my job is not physical I am very active swimming, lifting weights, cardio, anything that challenges me.

Good luck with your surgery.  Keep us posted.

Fen

Sorry you had to join us, Steve, but you came to the right place.

My melanoma was diagnosed by an enlarged lymph node in my parotid gland.  First surgery removed that lymph node and the gland.  Second surgery was a complete lymph node disection on the right side of my neck.  Recovery for me was mostly from the anesthetic but it probably took me a month or two before I felt good again – however I was in my 50's at the time…..old 🙂   Complete flexibility returned slowly – probably 6 months.  At this point, 8 years later, I have no issues with strength or movement.  There are some minor areas of numbness around my ear, but other than that there are no long term effects.   While my job is not physical I am very active swimming, lifting weights, cardio, anything that challenges me.

Good luck with your surgery.  Keep us posted.

Fen

Sorry you had to join us, Steve, but you came to the right place.

My melanoma was diagnosed by an enlarged lymph node in my parotid gland.  First surgery removed that lymph node and the gland.  Second surgery was a complete lymph node disection on the right side of my neck.  Recovery for me was mostly from the anesthetic but it probably took me a month or two before I felt good again – however I was in my 50's at the time…..old 🙂   Complete flexibility returned slowly – probably 6 months.  At this point, 8 years later, I have no issues with strength or movement.  There are some minor areas of numbness around my ear, but other than that there are no long term effects.   While my job is not physical I am very active swimming, lifting weights, cardio, anything that challenges me.

Good luck with your surgery.  Keep us posted.

Fen

Hi Steve,

My father (who is in his 60s) had surgery in December 2012 for a primary on top of his head and a bilateral neck dissection. Because of the margins for the primary, he had to have a skin graft on the primary and the surgery ended up taking over ten hours. I'm not sure how much it would vary for only one side of the neck, but I think the surgeons said closer to 5 hours.

I would say it took him about a month to start getting back to normal. Neck flexibility definitely took awhile to return and still isn't back to pre-surgery levels. However, his daily exercises help maintain the ground he has regained. He also has some weakness in his arms. The PT exercises have been to lift his arms straight u,p but the biggest weakness seems to be lifting his arms straight out to the side (his surgeon called it the "unlocking the passenger car door" stretch). He also experienced a fair amount of pain in his sternum/collarbone areas, which is apparently where the muscles they have to move to get to the nodes originate. We found that a heating pad on the muscles before/after his exercises helped with flexibility and that cold pads were essential for the pain in his chest. He was also on pain and anti-nausea medication regularly for the first month.

With regard to endurance, it's hard to say. He was doing laundry and small tasks around the home after he was discharged a week after the surgery but would feel somewhat winded and experience higher levels of pain after doing such tasks. I would say he was in pretty good physical shape before the surgery; he went to the gym three times a week and for long walks on other days. To build up his strength, we started going on walks around the block, which turned into walks around two blocks and then walks around three blocks, etc.

One more note: figuring out the most comfortable way to recline during rest and sleep was important/really helpful. We found that a foam triangular wedge supplemented by pillows and rolled up towels behind his neck was the best combination. He also had to keep his primary site (at the back/top of his head) off the pillows so putting a folded handtowel at the back of his head was the best way to give him the support he needed while keeping pressure off the primary.

Hope this information helps and best of luck to you. While it may feel daunting now, it's definitely manageable. We wish you the best of luck!

Hi Steve,

My father (who is in his 60s) had surgery in December 2012 for a primary on top of his head and a bilateral neck dissection. Because of the margins for the primary, he had to have a skin graft on the primary and the surgery ended up taking over ten hours. I'm not sure how much it would vary for only one side of the neck, but I think the surgeons said closer to 5 hours.

I would say it took him about a month to start getting back to normal. Neck flexibility definitely took awhile to return and still isn't back to pre-surgery levels. However, his daily exercises help maintain the ground he has regained. He also has some weakness in his arms. The PT exercises have been to lift his arms straight u,p but the biggest weakness seems to be lifting his arms straight out to the side (his surgeon called it the "unlocking the passenger car door" stretch). He also experienced a fair amount of pain in his sternum/collarbone areas, which is apparently where the muscles they have to move to get to the nodes originate. We found that a heating pad on the muscles before/after his exercises helped with flexibility and that cold pads were essential for the pain in his chest. He was also on pain and anti-nausea medication regularly for the first month.

With regard to endurance, it's hard to say. He was doing laundry and small tasks around the home after he was discharged a week after the surgery but would feel somewhat winded and experience higher levels of pain after doing such tasks. I would say he was in pretty good physical shape before the surgery; he went to the gym three times a week and for long walks on other days. To build up his strength, we started going on walks around the block, which turned into walks around two blocks and then walks around three blocks, etc.

One more note: figuring out the most comfortable way to recline during rest and sleep was important/really helpful. We found that a foam triangular wedge supplemented by pillows and rolled up towels behind his neck was the best combination. He also had to keep his primary site (at the back/top of his head) off the pillows so putting a folded handtowel at the back of his head was the best way to give him the support he needed while keeping pressure off the primary.

Hope this information helps and best of luck to you. While it may feel daunting now, it's definitely manageable. We wish you the best of luck!

Hi Steve,

My father (who is in his 60s) had surgery in December 2012 for a primary on top of his head and a bilateral neck dissection. Because of the margins for the primary, he had to have a skin graft on the primary and the surgery ended up taking over ten hours. I'm not sure how much it would vary for only one side of the neck, but I think the surgeons said closer to 5 hours.

I would say it took him about a month to start getting back to normal. Neck flexibility definitely took awhile to return and still isn't back to pre-surgery levels. However, his daily exercises help maintain the ground he has regained. He also has some weakness in his arms. The PT exercises have been to lift his arms straight u,p but the biggest weakness seems to be lifting his arms straight out to the side (his surgeon called it the "unlocking the passenger car door" stretch). He also experienced a fair amount of pain in his sternum/collarbone areas, which is apparently where the muscles they have to move to get to the nodes originate. We found that a heating pad on the muscles before/after his exercises helped with flexibility and that cold pads were essential for the pain in his chest. He was also on pain and anti-nausea medication regularly for the first month.

With regard to endurance, it's hard to say. He was doing laundry and small tasks around the home after he was discharged a week after the surgery but would feel somewhat winded and experience higher levels of pain after doing such tasks. I would say he was in pretty good physical shape before the surgery; he went to the gym three times a week and for long walks on other days. To build up his strength, we started going on walks around the block, which turned into walks around two blocks and then walks around three blocks, etc.

One more note: figuring out the most comfortable way to recline during rest and sleep was important/really helpful. We found that a foam triangular wedge supplemented by pillows and rolled up towels behind his neck was the best combination. He also had to keep his primary site (at the back/top of his head) off the pillows so putting a folded handtowel at the back of his head was the best way to give him the support he needed while keeping pressure off the primary.

Hope this information helps and best of luck to you. While it may feel daunting now, it's definitely manageable. We wish you the best of luck!

Hey Steve,

I had a radical neck dissection 4 years ago. My recollection is that I was in the hospital for a few days, and then was at home in bed for a few days after that. You'll most likely have drains for a couple of weeks after the surgery (please note that I may be off by a week or so on much of this) which will most likely inhibit physical activity. I believe that once the drains were out I was able to be moderately active. Obviously you have to take it easy for awhile, but generally speaking I was able to resume my normal life after perhaps a month. As far as long-term implications of the surgery, I was pretty lucky in that, other than the surgical area being zitty and uncomfortable to touch, everything's just fine. In fact I was playing competitive beach volleyball 6 weeks after the surgery (or at least that's my recollection).

Best of luck with your surgery and recovery! 

Josh

Hey Steve,

I had a radical neck dissection 4 years ago. My recollection is that I was in the hospital for a few days, and then was at home in bed for a few days after that. You'll most likely have drains for a couple of weeks after the surgery (please note that I may be off by a week or so on much of this) which will most likely inhibit physical activity. I believe that once the drains were out I was able to be moderately active. Obviously you have to take it easy for awhile, but generally speaking I was able to resume my normal life after perhaps a month. As far as long-term implications of the surgery, I was pretty lucky in that, other than the surgical area being zitty and uncomfortable to touch, everything's just fine. In fact I was playing competitive beach volleyball 6 weeks after the surgery (or at least that's my recollection).

Best of luck with your surgery and recovery! 

Josh

Hey Steve,

I had a radical neck dissection 4 years ago. My recollection is that I was in the hospital for a few days, and then was at home in bed for a few days after that. You'll most likely have drains for a couple of weeks after the surgery (please note that I may be off by a week or so on much of this) which will most likely inhibit physical activity. I believe that once the drains were out I was able to be moderately active. Obviously you have to take it easy for awhile, but generally speaking I was able to resume my normal life after perhaps a month. As far as long-term implications of the surgery, I was pretty lucky in that, other than the surgical area being zitty and uncomfortable to touch, everything's just fine. In fact I was playing competitive beach volleyball 6 weeks after the surgery (or at least that's my recollection).

Best of luck with your surgery and recovery! 

Josh

I don't know about the neck dissection, drains, etc. – but my husband had a large graft on the top of his head. It took about six weeks to heal, and he was not allowed to do any physical activity (exercise, biking, hiking) for about two months. I agree with the suggestion that figuring out a position for sleeping will be important. Once he figured out how to get some sleep, things improved considerably.

On the positive side, he went home from the hospital and worked at his computer some in the afternoon. He needed to rest sometimes during the day over the first week or so.

Hope it comes out well for you!

I don't know about the neck dissection, drains, etc. – but my husband had a large graft on the top of his head. It took about six weeks to heal, and he was not allowed to do any physical activity (exercise, biking, hiking) for about two months. I agree with the suggestion that figuring out a position for sleeping will be important. Once he figured out how to get some sleep, things improved considerably.

On the positive side, he went home from the hospital and worked at his computer some in the afternoon. He needed to rest sometimes during the day over the first week or so.

Hope it comes out well for you!

I don't know about the neck dissection, drains, etc. – but my husband had a large graft on the top of his head. It took about six weeks to heal, and he was not allowed to do any physical activity (exercise, biking, hiking) for about two months. I agree with the suggestion that figuring out a position for sleeping will be important. Once he figured out how to get some sleep, things improved considerably.

On the positive side, he went home from the hospital and worked at his computer some in the afternoon. He needed to rest sometimes during the day over the first week or so.

Hope it comes out well for you!