Hi!

I was involved in a thread a while back about swollen lymph glands and dental work. After a long (3 month) process and being tossed back and forth between doctors, it appears the pain I have been having in my jaw is caused by a blocked or inflammed submandibular gland. All x-rays and CT scans have been negative but my symptoms are classic - swelling with eating and drinking under my jawline. All dental x-rays have been normal as well. My Dr. tried to dilate the duct in the office but no stone passed. My symptoms, however, became much worse, so I'm reasonably sure this is a gland problem. (In any event, removing the gland will make this evident one way or the other!)

My options now are to live with the pain (not really an option) or have the gland removed through an incision in my neck. Has anyone else here had this done? I know it's not exactly a dental problem, but I'm hoping there are some people with oral surgery experience lurking here. My Dr. described the procedure fairly well, but I'd like to hear from someone who has been through it (or knows someone who has). What is the postop pain like? How long is the recovery? Any surprises I should be aware of?

Thanks for your help!

I had a submandibular gland removed due to a mass. My symptoms were extreme pain, especially when turning my head. An ENT took a dye scan and found the mass. I was given the option to wait until it got larger or have it done. I decided to have it done as pain was so bad. When they took it out they stated it looked like cells were changing and it was good to get it out. I have a 3" scar on my neck which is hardly noticeable. Recovery was okay but I did notice some stiffness at first. I have Sjogren's Syndrome (body destroys moisture producing glands). I had a stone many years ago where jaw swelled up after eating. The doctor said to suck on lemon drops, which I did, and it finally went away. I have been having painful teeth problems now and have had most of my teeth removed. I have often wondered if mass developed because of infected teeth. There are some possible dangers in that nerves in the area of neck and teeth can be damaged in surgery and you should talk to your doctor to find out all the possibilities of what could be wrong. Your surgeon should be experienced and you should check with medical association to see that he is a capable surgeon and has performed this operation before. Good luck to you.

Thank you so much for your response! It was very reassuring. I wonder, my Dr. talked about sending me home with a drain in place. Did you have this? Also, did you have a lot of swelling? He said it would take about a week to recovery. Does this sound right?

I'm pretty much set to do this, as I can't live forever with this pain and am definitely losing weight. Just want to know as much as possible what I'm in for. I had cervical disc fusion about two years ago, so one more neck scar doesn't phase me at all.

Yes, I did have a drain but since they kept me overnight, they removed it before I left. A week later I drove 50 miles OW myself to have it checked out and my neck was stiff and a bit painful, as I remember. I did have some swelling and some bruising. Best wishes to you.

One more question - I hope you don't mind. Was the swelling you experienced mostly in your neck/face region or inside your mouth? I'm a bit nervous about mouth swelling because about a 1 1/2 weeks ago my Dr. opened up the duct in my mouth with a rather large incision - I ended up getting an infection and had tremendous swelling of the gland under my tongue and the tongue itself. It was a bit scary and I had trouble swallowing, but it is healing well now. I just want to be prepared if this is likely to happen again. Swelling of the neck and external facial tissues doesn't bother me as much. I had cervical disc surgery and have been through that before.

Thanks so much for your patience with these questions!

The surgery was done 3 years ago. I had some swelling (not too bad) right in the area of incision, which is under jaw in neck. I do have some tightness to this day and I think it could perhaps be adhesions or probably due to something being removed. Sometimes it hurts a little. Your duct procedure sounds very painful and I am glad it is healing for you. Are you familiar with Sjogren's? Your glands can swell and you have dry eyes, dry mouth. It affects mostly women.