Parotid gland tumor. Will need surgery. Your experience at Mayo?

Dr. Eric Moore did my head/neck cancer surgery at Mayo. I had tumor in my salivary duct and had complete parotidectomy with neck dissection August 28, 2023. I came back in October for 3 weeks of proton beam radiation. Yesterday was my 5 month marker and I'm recovering well. My next appointments at Mayo are February 1-2 for post surgery PET and CT scans. I will keep you posted.

Sue - did you have facial paralysis (no smile or slanted smile) post surgery? Did you have plastic surgery or facial reanimation surgery done to correct this? Dr. Moore said it would take one year for the nerves to reconnect. I was curious to know what happens after the 12 months. Does your smile just activate or is surgery needed?

Thank you so much Susan for responding so quickly. I have been following Dr.Moore and hope to get an appointment with him. From all of the videos I have watched, his expertise is what I want in a doctor. I hope you are in good health and thanks again to your help.

Hello @tinytoni. I had surgery for head and neck cancer at Mayo in 2012. My primary was in the ear canal so my ear ENT surgeon was Dr. Colin Driscoll. The partial parotidectomy and neck dissection was done by Dr Eric Moore who is also an ENT and Plastic Surgeon. Residents were always involved as well. At the time the nurses said I had the best team of surgeons and I do believe that. Dr. Moore was able to remove a portion of my facial nerve affected by tumor and reconnect the ends to allow for healing of the facial paralysis. My doctors at Mayo have always been assigned according to their specialty and my needs and I have always been pleased with my care team. Once in their system, the team approach is amazing in how well it functions so that you can see just who you need to see. We still drive 10 hours from Ohio for rechecks because of the excellent medical care. Good luck to you. Susan

Welcome, @tinytoni. I added your question to the Head & Neck Cancer Support Group (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/head-neck-cancer/) as well. I'm tagging @hrhwilliam @mrf @gypsygem @sepdvm @denisebrown67 who can share their experience with parotid tumors or other head and neck cancer at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

You might also be interested in watching this archived video with 2 of Mayo Clinic's leading surgeons in Otorhinolaryngology, Dr. Eric Moore and Dr. Daniel Price, discussing parotid tumors.
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/event/video-qa-about-parotid-tumors/

You will be in good hands at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Has a referral already been submitted?