4 days ago I had my right submandibular gland removed due to an infection in it and subsequent swelling that would not go down. After the surgery, I was in extreme pain for about 36 hours, somewhat at the incision site but mainly in my throat, which I think was due to the breathing tube insertion/removal. I had no swelling when I left the hospital (same day) but when I woke up the next morning (after barely sleeping due to pain and anxiety) I had soft swelling all around the incision. Now, 4 days later I have less pain (still some in my throat), a bit of numbness around the incision and hard swelling around the incision. I am seeing my surgeon within the next week for a follow up but wondered has anyone else experienced this after this or similar surgery? I am on antibiotics and have no signs of infection and I did not have a drain put in post surgery to deal with any potential fluid.
I think it is very early days you should expect some swelling and numbness your body is trying to heal after trauma and it takes time .I had a drain in overnight when i had my op and still had swelling my wound had a numb and sensitive feeling due to the nerves being disturbed during the op it all takes a while to settle down.I hope by now you are feeling a bit better.
Thanks for the replies. Yes, I am feeling better now but not yet 100% (it's been 8 days). I still have the numbness and hard swelling under the incision with itchiness and some dull pain at the incision site. I am also experiencing (the last few days) some sensitivity (mild pangs of pain) at the site that might be the nerves coming back to life. How long ago did you have the op, townko? How long before you were back to your normal self? I have my follow up tomorrow to get my stitches out and will update thereafter.
It takes at least 6 weeks for the wound to look healed .It will be 2 years in April been since my op and i still have slight sensitivity around the area,but its only when i touch the area under my chin.It took a for it to feel normal its a gradual process and everyone heals differently, you will feel better when your sutures are removed but numbness feeling and sensitivity will take longer.I hope you are feeling better after having your sutures removed.
Wow, 2 years, that's a long time! I had my follow up yesterday and my surgeon basically said the same, that it's a slow process, different for everyone but that I am at a normal stage in the process. He took out the stitches and says the hardness under the incision is normal as I have dissolvable stitches under the skin too, which will take about 6 weeks to dissolve. He says it will take at least 2 months for the swelling to subside and maybe the same for the pain to completely subside. He told me to put sun cream on the scar every day for the next year to avoid discoloration. He also said all the dull pain, itchiness, pangs of pain, sensitivity and numbness that I am having are normal. I have another follow up with him in 2 months' time but overall feeling better about the whole procedure and I have accepted that full recovery will be a long haul and I need to be patient.
I have a similar thing..had right submandibular gland removed last week. All seems to be healing well but above my incision where gland was is rock solid. I see you said that this is normal but how long did it last for for you?
I have replied to you on one of the other threads but I will reply here too. I still have what I perceived to be hardness in the area of the incision but I just had my 3 month follow up today with my surgeon and he was not concerned about the 'hardness' I was feeling. He said it was the oblique muscle now feeling more pronounced to me on that side since I am missing a gland and 1 lymph node. He says the numbness I still have is normal and makes any 'hardness' feel more pronounced. It takes months for the nerves to come back to life apparently and of course everyone heals differently so factor that in too. He wants to see me in another 3 months for a check up but as far as he's concerned, all is normal. How are things with you now??
I went to see my consultant for follow up last week and he said the same, that the hardness is normal. My neck is still quite painful and hard but I’ve been told it is scar tissue.
Tongue is still fairly numb and tingles which I can only assume is nerves coming back.
I have now got what feels like a hard lump until my tongue that is painful, not sure what that is? It seems to have developed after my op 🙄
I haven't had a lip biopsy. I would like to know if your lips felt numb or swollen inside without being swollen. I thought this whole time, was the case. But I realized my chin and lips were numb. I was wondering if you had any signs like this before a lip biopsy.
I'm doing ok. I had my op 3 months ago but really I'm only starting to feel normal again now. The aftermath was no joke for me and included anxiety and depression, from which I'm starting to see the light now.
My tongue felt funny for about 2 months after the operation. It was a mixture of numb and tingly. Hard to explain but it eventually went away. Do you notice your mouth being dryer than usual? I had dry mouth before I had the op (due to the infection I had in my gland) but it has not improved since my op. The doctor said removing a salivary gland would not affect the amount of saliva really because we have so many other salivary glands. I didn't get a lump under my tongue but I think I read somewhere else here that somebody else had one. That's good you had a positive follow up visit. Things will pan out, we just need to be patient. I learned that the hard way.
Takes a long time to feel better doesn’t it, I didn’t realise it would!
I haven’t noticed a dry mouth but have had lots of tingling and numbness down the side of my tongue, which I still have and seems to feel worse when I eat or talk for some reason.
The lump under my tongue I think has only developed in the last week and I had my op nearly three weeks ago. It used to swell when I had the gland but now it’s removed I’m not sure what it is! May be just swelling but hurts when I touch it and also makes my tongue tingle more.. very weird!😂
I am normally a very active person so finding it really hard that I feel really tired and can’t do a lot still after 3 weeks.
Did you have several infections or just one before you had your gland removed?
Yes, it does take a long time, I didn't realise it would either. I have been really tired too up until just recently, This last two weeks I am finally not exhausted anymore. Are you sleeping well at night?
Oh my tingling of the tongue got worse after eating too. This will eventually pass I'd say, it did for me. Why did you get your gland removed in the first place? Mine was just one infection but the gland would not go down again so they thought there might also have been a salivary stone or worse that they just couldn't see in the CT Scan. Turns out it was neither, just a nasty infection.
I have been sleeping better now but keep waking up as it aches a lot and gives me tooth ache. Also hurts a lot in the morning too.
My gland kept swelling after I ate and was so painful. Went to hospital who said I had a large stone blocking the gland and where it was located I had to have the entire gland removed. When thy did the op it took 3 and half hours as gland was completely stuck to my nerves apparently!
Yes, I know the feeling. I'm finally feeling as if I'm coming round to myself now this last 2 weeks or so. My surgeon said this is not a small operation and we should expect to feel out of sorts as the body heals.
I am sleeping better now too but it took a while. I still get uncomfortable on the side of the incision, and I get earache and often headaches on that side too. All in all though I'm in a much better place than I was just after the op. You'll come around as well, you just need time.
Glad you’re starting to feel better now, even if it has been a long recovery for you.
I am the same with the incision side, I get toothache on that side and have a lot of tough scar tissue on it and swelling under my tongue on that side, which I presume is also swelling.
The tiredness is the worst thing for me at the moment. I have a complete lack of energy and find it difficult to do much. How long did you experience this for?
The exhaustion and weakness lasted about 2 months for me! I couldn't lift heavy things or open tight jars (and things like that) up until just a few weeks ago. That was one side effect I was NOT expecting honestly. The body does what it has to do, I suppose, to heal. You'll get there in good time.
Where is the scar tissue you talk about? Just underneath the incision site??