How you will feel after head and neck cancer surgery will vary greatly depending on your age, your general health, the size of the affected area and whether you also have reconstructive surgery. Your surgeon can give you a better idea of what to expect after the operation. The side effects listed below are often temporary.
The side effects listed below are often temporary. For more information about ongoing effects, see Managing side effects.
 | PainYou will have some pain and discomfort for several days after surgery, but you will be given pain medicines to manage this. You may take tablets or be given injections, or you may have patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), which delivers a measured dose of pain medicine through a drip when you press a button. You may also have numbness after surgery. |
 | Drains and cathetersFor a few days, you may have tubes at the surgery site to drain fluid from the wound into small containers. You may also have a catheter, a tube from your bladder that drains urine into a bag. |
 | Eating and drinkingYou will usually wake up from surgery with a drip in your arm to give you fluids. You usually won’t be allowed to eat or drink for several hours or sometimes days. Depending on the surgery, you may then start with clear liquids, move on to puréed food, and then soft foods. |
 | Feeding tubeEating and drinking may be difficult after some surgeries. A temporary feeding tube may be inserted through your nose into your stomach (nasogastric or NG tube) to allow the surgery area to heal. Another option is a gastrostomy or PEG or RIG tube inserted directly into your stomach. A nutritional formula is then given through these feeding tubes. |
 | MovementAfter some surgeries, you may be in bed for a time. A physiotherapist will teach you breathing exercises to clear your lungs and reduce the risk of a chest infection. As soon as possible, your team will encourage you to sit in a chair and walk around. This will speed up recovery. |
 | Speech changesSome surgeries may affect your ability to speak clearly, but your team will discuss this with you beforehand. You will usually see a speech pathologist who will help you improve your speech. |
 | Breathing difficultiesIf surgery is likely to cause your mouth, tongue or throat to become swollen, your surgeon will talk to you about having a temporary tracheostomy. This is a breathing tube in your neck that helps you to breathe. |
 | Sore throatIt is common to have a sore throat after surgery on the mouth or throat, but you will be given medicine to control any pain. You may also have some throat discomfort from the anaesthetic tube for a few days. |
 | SwallowingSurgery will sometimes change the way you swallow and this can often be difficult at first. A speech pathologist will assess your swallowing and help you regain your ability to swallow. |
→ READ MORE: Radiation therapy for head and neck cancers
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A/Prof Martin Batstone, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and Director of the Maxillofacial Unit, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Polly Baldwin, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council SA; Martin Boyle, Consumer; Dr Teresa Brown, Assistant Director Dietetics, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Honorary Associate Professor, University of Queensland, QLD; Dr Hayley Dixon, Head, Clinical Support Dentistry Department, WSLHD Oral Health Services, Public Health Dentistry Specialist, NSW; Head and Neck Cancer Care Nursing Team, Royal Melbourne Hospital, VIC; Rhys Hughes, Senior Speech Pathologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Dr Annette Lim, Medical Oncologist and Clinician Researcher – Head and Neck and Non-melanoma Skin Cancer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Dr Sweet Ping Ng, Radiation Oncologist, Austin Health, VIC; Deb Pickersgill, Senior Clinical Exercise Physiologist, Queensland Sports Medicine Centre, QLD; John Spurr, Consumer; Kate Woodhead, Physiotherapist, St Vincent’s Health, Melbourne, VIC; A/Prof Sue-Ching Yeoh, Oral Medicine Specialist, University of Sydney, Sydney Oral Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW.
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