Hi

My husband was diagnosed with oral cancer in July and within 6 weeks he had undergone an operation to remove his upper jaw, part of his upper lip and hard palate and a neck dissection. He was unlucky, in that the free flap reconstruction did not work and the team seem to be struggling to fit him with an obturator. He has a temporary one in place at the moment, but this is so hard to get in and out and the seems to need two doctors for an hour or more every time the process is undertaken. If there is anyone out there who has any advice or experience with obturators I would be extremely grateful to hear from you. I have found a web site based in the US where there was someone, but the system is so different there it is hard to know how to use the advice.

My husband has recovered well from his operation but is on day three of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and is already looking red. Good to know this site is here for specific advice.

Kate

Hi Kate,welcome. You'll find plenty of info here about any RT and chemo probs your husband runs in to.
I had very similar surgery to your husband in 1997 and gave up with the obturator in a very short space of time. I went without one for about a year or so (couldn't talk properly but still better than using the obturator) and then had really good reconstructive surgery. Obviously every case is different and it might not be suitable in all cases but it might be worth looking into further down the line. Good luck to you both. Hagg.

Hello Kate,
I also started early on with a reaction to R/T.
In fact day 1 i noticed a dramatic reduction in saliva.
Your husbands had very agressive surgery.
I hope we can help in anyway - if not offer lots of support to you both.
Best wishes,
Michelle

Hi Kate

As Michelle said if we can help in any way just post there are lots here to help and support
Dave and Sue

Hi Kate,

Im a newby here and will be starting my chemo/radiotherapy shortly - this site and the people on here are a God send, with great support and information at hand. I wish your husband and you the strength and resilience to beat this.

regards

Gary

Thank you all for your welcome and good wishes. Hagg, first of all how cheering to hear you had such similar surgery and are still here ten years on, well done. Could I ask if you had radiotherapy, as the impression my husband has been given is that as he has had to have this he will probably not be able to have a further reconstruction. The initial reconstruction they did failed, and the tumour he has is aggressive, so radiotherapy had to be started as soon as possible. The initial failure was due to the blood supply to the flap failing and one of the side effects of radiation is that it can effect the efficacy of blood vessels, therefore any future reconstruction would not stand a good chance of success. At least this is my understanding.

Kate

Hi Kate, 10 years and going strong. Never give up,a positive attitude has to help but I do remember how hard it can be,especially in the early days. I had reconstruction about 2 years after RT. You're right about the RT screwing with the healing process but I healed well with only a small part of my flap not taking. Everyone is different though so maybe I was just lucky. Good luck to you and your husband for the coming weeks/months. Things might get tough but there are plenty of us on the forum for support.