Denise's Recovery Begins

Denise made it through surgery, and the surgeon said everything went well. Here is an update:

• They removed her upper left teeth from her canine tooth back (five teeth in all).

• They cut out bone in the roof of her mouth, leaving an oval-shaped hole about 1.5 x 0.5 in.

• The roof of her mouth is full of packing and covered by an obturator (a prosthetic device similar to a retainer) to hold everything in place while she heals. The obturator also provides some fake teeth.

• She will probably be in the hospital for two days.

• We will get a pathology report in about a week. Those results will likely inform decisions regarding any further treatment (e.g., radiation).

• Recovery will be a process. Initial healing will take about two months, with a soft food and liquid diet the first month. Full healing of the mouth and sinus area will take at least six months, while any nerve damage could take a year or more.

• Praise reports:

  • No feeding tube was necessary. They thought Denise would need one for 24 hours, but she is able to spoon-feed herself broth with no problem!

  • No skin graft was necessary. They had planned to take skin from her thigh (leaving a scar) to aid with healing, but they were able to use good tissue in her mouth instead.

  • Other than some swelling, she looks and sounds like herself!

• We are still praying that all of the cancer is gone and that she won't need radiation or any further treatment.

Again, thank you so much for your support and prayers!

Love in Christ,

Billy Ford