Physical Therapy for Radical Neck Surgery

Radical neck dissection surgery is an operation where lymph nodes and other structures that may carry cancerous tissue from the neck. These cancerous tissues are more likely to spread throughout the body. Although new surgical techniques reduce the amount of tissue removed from the neck a certain amount of rehabilitation is necessary.

Post Operation

• After the surgery, it is likely that the patient will need to stay in the hospital for a few day to recover properly. If the surgery also removed a primary tumor, it is likely this stay may need to be longer to monitor the patient's progress. Tubing that acts as drains for fluid are attached to the neck so that any excessive amount of fluids that accumulate where the incision took place can be safely removed. These drains stay in while the patient recovers at the hospital. Once the incisions have healed properly, the tubes will be removed before the patient is sent home.

Arm and Shoulder

• Depending on how many stitches were placed into the neck, the patient may need to have physical therapy for the arm and the shoulder area. As the some muscle tissue may need to be removed, range of motion (ROM) exercises will need to be performed to return the arm and shoulder back to their previous ability levels. If physical therapy is not done, there is a risk that the shoulder may begin to sag. Using exercises that use the arm in a pendulum motion, abducting and flexing the arm and shoulder are recommended in both passive and active motions.

At Home

• Make sure the shoulder and arm are not over extended during the initial healing process. Make sure that all object that may need to be used are kept at chest height or below. The patient should not need to reach up over the head for heavy objects until the shoulder and arm have regained a certain amount of strength. If physical therapy exercises are recommended at home, a partner should be present to aid the patient when muscle strength is low.