My Superficial Parotidectomy

It was September 2011 when I first detected the unusual pea size lump in my right jaw.  I knew it didn't feel right when there was no identical feeling on the left side.

At the time I was a 36 year old female.

I'm single, fit and healthy with no major medical history or issues.

December 2011

I coincidentally had a hospital appointment to excise a lipoma on my back when I asked the surgeon to check the lump on my jaw.  Initially, he felt the lump and was convinced it was a small cyst beneath my skin and could remove it in a simple day procedure.

Lucky for me I trusted my gut and got a second opinion which involved xray scans and ultrasound.  Upon returning to the same surgeon with the results, he was gobsmacked at his original diagnosis, thinking it was beneath my skin when in fact, it was IN my parotid gland which would require more complex surgery.

It was that day in December 2011 I was first diagnosed of possibly having a pleomorphic adenoma and was told about the complex surgery required to remove it.  Needless to say, I was devasted at the thought and went home quite upset.

It is now March 2012 and 3 days post op and I'm happy, positive and pain free!

The intent of this blog is to outline the positive experience I had and not to put the living fear into people like what I did to myself by googling and reading too many other blogs! 

Whilst it is important to note that this is a complex procedure, we should never ignore the fact that we all heal and respond to pain very differently and should never compare situations.

January 2013

Since that day in March, I have been having 6 monthly ultrasounds under the guidance of a FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration) aka. biopsy.  The first two tests resulted in insufficient cells extracted to form a clear diagnosis.  The third test in January confirmed the lump to be a 7mm pleomorphic adenoma which had not increased in size since first being detected.  Although the tumour was benign, the risk was that it could grow and could turn cancerous and would need ongoing monitoring indefinitely.

I took these results to two separate ENT surgeons who advised me that the universal recommendation would be to remove the lump sooner than later.

You should know that in the 18 months since I first detected this lump, I have been consulted by:

• 2 general surgeons

• 2 ENT specialists - public and private

• 1 plastic surgeon - because of my concern with scarring and i was advised that he could not assist with the procedure and would close the wound exactly the same way as the ENT would.

• one GP - who showed me her 12 mth old thyroid surgery scar which I didnt notice until she pointed it out.

By this stage I felt informed. When it came to surgery on my face, cost was not a deciding factor.  I wanted the best possible outcome guaranteed.

February 2013

I had surrendered to the fact that surgery is the best possible outcome.  I needed some more peace of mind and started googling blogs to hear about other peoples experiences.  I would search for images of surgery scars and basically logged off the internet each time, almost traumatised at what I would read!

I made myself stop and try to think logically - I'm a young, healthy, fit woman.  I've had surgeries before.  There was no other option, so I made the appointment.

Because I live an active life, the thought of putting all of that on hold was devastating.

5th March 2013 (D DAY!)

My surgery was booked for 1pm today.  I arrived at the hospital nice and early, checked in, got prepped and didn't have to wait long before they took me in.

The most difficult part of the day so far was fasting since 6am!

They wheeled me in at 1pm and by 5pm I was waking up - albeit a little slowly under fluorescent lights.

By 6pm I was eating a chicken casserole with rice and vegies - I was hungry and pleased that I could still chew!

My pain was a 2/10 and Panadol was enough to keep me comfortable.

Sleeping on my left was ok but sleeping on my right was not the same but not impossible either.

I have a drain attached to stop blood pooling where the lump use to be but because the area is numb, this doesn't bother me at all, except that I can't leave my bed without it.

I can't feel my neck, cheek and most of my ear but the surgeon assures me this will come back in time.  My smile is a little wonky and the right side of my face has swelled but that will subside in a few days.  The most annoying thing is when it starts to itch and scratching won't satisfy the itch because you can't feel yourself scratching, but I've learnt to apply firm pressure with my hand and rub the area.

6th March 2013 (DAY 1)

Pain is still a 2/10.

I can get up and shower and wet the incision today - it needs a bit of cleaning up!

I'm on a soft foods diet so I can manage Porridge for breakfast, Tuna bake for lunch with rice and veggies.

The drain has slowed down in collecting fluid so the doctor says I can go home - yay!

7th March 2013 (DAY 2)

Sleeping in my own bed last night was great and not too uncomfortable.  I'm still on 4 hourly panadol to keep any discomfort at bay but overall it's still about a 1/10.

I had a shower and washed my bloodied hair today.  I had hear this would be near impossible but I managed quite well and without pain.

I tried eating a noodle stir fry today and the spices didn't bother me too much (just a slight tingling sensation but nothing major).  The worst part is I'm a fast eater and I'm hungry so eating about half a teaspoon at a time is like torture!  ..  there are a lot worse things.

Mum drove me to the supermarket today and it wasn't until I was in the car that I got a little light headed and realised I wasn't quite 100% but it was nice to get out in the sunshine.

Friday 8th March 2013 (DAY 3)

Today I'm feeling quite mobile and haven't taken any pain killers until about dinner time when my neck was feeling a little tender.

I've been watching tv, browsing online most of the day and starting to itch to get outside and get active again.  I've taken a couple of calls from friends and eventhough I sounded o to them, I can't open my mouth wide enough to speak clearly enough so that got a bit tiring after a while.

Generally speaking, I'm feeling great considering I was under the knife 3 days ago.

Ok so my decision to stop taking meds was a bad move!
Tonight, the pain caught up with me and catch-up medications didn't make any difference.  I could not get comfortable and had to send myself to bed hoping they would kick in overnight.

Saturday 9th March 2013 (DAY 4)
Sleeping was difficult as the muscles around the front and side of my neck were sore so it made turning and lifting my head painful.  Half my face had swollen and mum even asked if I'd put any cream on my face because my skin was so shiny from the swelling.  By midday I was in tears and it didn't feel like the drugs were working.  After a hearty chicken soup, nap and a visit from a friend I was distracted enough to not realise the pain had subsided.  Now I had to keep on top of it and took some extra strong medications which upset my tummy so I sent myself to bed early.

Sunday 10th March 2013 (DAY 5)
After a good 12 hours sleep, I woke up feeling a lot better! Swelling had reduced and I only had minor discomfort today but mostly ok.
Lesson Learned: Don't get ahead of yourself (impatient) and pretend you're ok when you need to give your body time to heal.  A friend of mine reminded me that while my body is in pain, it is not healing so I took that on board and continued the drugs.


Monday 11th March 2013 (DAY 6)
Anabela visited. Some pain in the afternoon.

Tuesday 12th March 2013 (DAY 7)

Stitches come out today - can't wait!

* * * * * * * * * *

I will continue posting photos here to show my progress and to give you hope.

* * * * * * * * * *

NONE OF THE BLOGS I have read even begin to resemble my experience.

I've realised that just like restaurant or any other reviews, people only speak up when they have a drama or (not so) good story to tell.  You never hear about the smooth sailing experiences and the awesome customer service, because that's waht people expect all of the time.

By writing this, I wanted to change that and give people hope that's it's not the end of the world like I thought it was.  It will not stop or change your life - at least for me, it didn't and you should know by now that you shouldn't compare stories!

Link to one of the good news stories i found in my google hunt.
http://www.pokedandparotid.com/

Link to a not so good news story.. this one freaked me out so read at your own peril!
http://annegilesclelland.typepad.com/blog/2010/02/parotidectomy-moving-on.html

Saturday 13th January 2018 (5 YEARS POST SURGERY)

I don't even think about or see the scar.  Even when I point it out to friends, they struggle to see it.  The only reminder of this surgery is when I eat and the side of my face perspires - only a little annoying when you have to wipe your face in public but it's NOTHING compared to alternative risks!

Looking back I would have no hesitation in recommending this surgery.  The scar was the only thing I was so stressed about and now it's not even a blimp on my radar.

In relation to the external sweating (when the nerves reattach to the inside of your cheek), this took a few years to become noticeable (by me and no-one else).
- After 1 year I didn't notice anything
- after 2 years I started to notice mild perspiration
- but after 3 years it definitely kicked in.

Now it just involves me patting the side of my face dry (only around the scar region) with a napkin after certain meals.

I have not noticed a trend where this perspiration is triggered by certain food.  Whether a food is spicy or not makes no difference to when it perspires.

Here's a pic I took today in response to a comment request.