After mouth cancer surgery
Your recovery depends on the type of surgery you have and your general health.
You usually need to stay in hospital. The length of your stay depends on what type of operation you have. You might be able to go home after a few days. But some people will stay in hospital for up to a few weeks. You will need to give yourself time to recover once you are at home.
When you wake up after your operation
You usually wake up in the recovery unit before moving back to your ward.
If you have had a big operation, you may wake up in intensive care (ICU) or a high dependency recovery unit. You usually move back to the ward within a day or so.
In the ICU you have one to one nursing care. And in the high dependency unit you have very close nursing care. Your surgeon and anaesthetist also keep an eye on your progress.
These units are busy and often noisy places that some people find strange and disorienting. You'll feel drowsy because of the anaesthetic and painkillers.
Tubes and drains
When you wake up you might have:
- a drip (intravenous infusion) into your arm to give you fluids until you are eating and drinking again
- a breathing tube in your neck
- a fine tube into your stomach (gastrostomy tube) or into your stomach via your nose (nasogastric tube) for liquid feeds
- wound drains in your neck or near your wound
- a tube into your bladder (catheter) to collect and measure urine
Talking after your operation
If you had surgery to your voice box, mouth, jaw, tongue or throat you will have problems talking after your operation. This can be frustrating and you may feel you have no control over things.
Staff will be aware of this. You will have a call bell close by so you can call for help if you need it. Your nurse can give you a pen and paper to write down what you want to say.
Mobile devices may also help. Your nurse may be able to provide a computer tablet while you are in hospital.
Breathing tubes
After your surgery, you might wake up with a breathing tube in a hole in your neck. The hole is called a stoma or tracheostomy.
This is usually temporary. You breathe through the tube for 3 or 4 days. Then your doctor or someone from your healthcare team removes it. The hole then closes up on its own.
A few people will need a permanent tracheostomy.
Painkillers
It’s normal to have pain for the first week or so. You have painkillers to help.
Tell your doctor or nurse as soon as you feel any pain. They need your help to find the right type and dose of painkiller for you. Painkillers work best when you take them regularly.
Immediately after surgery you might have painkillers through a drip into the bloodstream that you control. This is called patient controlled analgesia (PCA). Analgesia is another word for painkillers.
Or you might have painkillers through a small thin tube that is put into your back. This tube connects to a pump that gives you a constant dose of painkillers. This is called an epidural.
You get painkillers to take home. Follow the instructions your nurse gives you about how often and when to take them. Contact your doctor if you still have pain or if it gets worse.
Eating and drinking
Whether or not you can eat or drink after your operation depends on your type of surgery. Any surgery to your mouth usually means you can't eat or drink for a few days. You have fluid through a drip and you can wet your mouth with ice or sips of water.
If you have a feeding tube, a dietitian will see you to decide how much liquid feed you need, until you are eating and drinking normally.
Once your wound has healed you can gradually increase the amount you drink. Soon you can start to eat a soft diet, such as soup or jelly. Your dietitian will monitor this and gradually cut down your liquid feeds.
Feeding tubes
There are different types of feeding tubes. One type is a tube straight into your stomach called a gastrostomy tube. You have liquid feeds into the tube until you are eating and drinking again.
A tube into your stomach via your nose is called a nasogastric tube. It helps to stop you feeling sick. Later it will be used as a feeding tube.
The nasogastric tube might go up your nose, down your throat and into your stomach. Or it may go into your breathing stoma, through a small hole at the back of your windpipe (trachea) and into your food pipe (oesophagus). The tube helps to keep the hole in your neck open, if you need to have a speaking valve fitted later on.
Getting up
Getting up may seem very difficult at first. Your nurses will encourage you to get up and about as soon as possible after your operation. Moving about helps you to get better, but you will need to start very gradually. Your physiotherapist will visit you regularly after your operation to help you with your breathing and leg exercises.
Going home
You’ll need some help when you first go home. The dietitian will talk to you and your family about what to eat. It might take some time to find what works for you.
You’re likely to feel very tired for several weeks or a few months after your surgery. It helps to do a bit more every day.
Try:
- sitting for less time each day
- walking around the house a bit more each day
- building up to walking outside
What you can do depends on how fit you were before your surgery and any problems you have afterwards. Talk to the physiotherapist or your doctor if you’re unsure about what you should be doing.
Contact your doctor or specialist nurse if you have any problems or symptoms you’re unsure about.
Follow up appointment
You have follow up appointments to check your recovery and sort out any problems. They‘re also your opportunity to raise any concerns you have about your progress.
Possible problems after surgery
There is a risk of problems or complications after any operation. These include changes to eating, talking, and your appearance.
