Hard palette obturator

Hi Skye. I'm not familiar with this cancer personally but my advice would be to take those questions with you and if you are not happy with the answers maybe seek a second opinion

There are patients here with obturators

I have done a search for you  HERE

Lyn  Sophie66   is here quite often so likely she will pop on with help

Hi Skye. So sorry to hear about the salivary gland cancer. How horrible after just coming through the treatment for uterine cancer. Discuss your concerns with your consultant. He may be taking the mould for the obturator in case he needs to remove more of the roof of your mouth when he actually does the surgery so wants to be prepared. As he said that is the worst case scenario so fingers crossed that it is only shaving the bone but he won't know until he actually starts the op.

I had jaw cancer and had an obturator for 3 years after a left maxillectomy. I then had another occurrence  and had to have a right maxillectomy so the obturator no longer had anything to attach to so I had a skin graft to cover the roof of my mouth and now have dentures.

I woke up after my first maxillectomy with the obturator already in my mouth. I had this one for a few months until the swelling from the op subsided and then had another obturator made that fitted much better and had no issues with it. I was unable to eat or drink without the obturator in. Fluid would come down my nose if I drank without it. I had to adjust my diet and only eat a very soft diet. However this may be different for you as I had already had a mandibulectomy so had a reduced number of teeth. The first obturator had to be adjusted a few times and became quite loose after the swelling subsided but the second one fitted like a glove and it became second nature to put it in as soon as I got up in the morning. I also found that without the obturator in my speech was a bit hard to understand and very nasal but with it in there were no issues. It did take a while to adjust mentally to the obturator and also to the differences it made in eating but after a while I got on fine with it.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

Lyn

Thank you for reply , 

Have been told it will be in when i wake up from op by reconstructive dentist so sounds like a done deal that’s the part I am annoyed about , think my appointment’s in wrong order should of seen surgeon first ! I am feeling pretty awful because I refused MRI yesterday I was feeling very anxious  about it  but freaked when I seen the cage I had to wear over head , I had Diamazipan with me so got told that I could reschedule and I could take that first but still didn’t think I could do it , I managed pelvic MRI by tilting head back and looking out of end of machine when I needed to .Waited an hour to be seen wasn’t in the best place mentally after seeing that dentist the day before so overall feel such a failure to decline such an important test (CT scan neck were clear ) having looked on internet some have mirrors which would of helped because then u can see outside scanner however that wasn’t mentioned .Have pre op on Friday and have an appointment with surgeon first which I am going to reschedule because my husband is abroad at moment comes back on Friday but too late to be at consult with me and have realised now I need him , thought I would be fine on my own usually like to assimilate info first then tell those that need to know . My daughter was supposed to be accompanying me but don’t want her in room with me at consult she is only 22 and think it’s too much for her . Having read your profile you have had a rough journey and don’t think I could do that and am ashamed that I don’t feel like I can cope with this op feel such a sense of doom and panic , will definitely need something to calm me down before op because i think I will be in fight or flight mode or in a snivelling heap ! It’s just so life changing my husband when I told him said so when will they fix it ? I said they don t it’s for life he thought it was a temporary  thing !I am worrying now about radiation afterwards because that needs a cage thing over head aswell but suppose it’s for a far shorter duration so doable hopefully I won’t need it the cancer I have doesn’t usually metasize doesn’t usually affect nodes , spreads locally but they always want to be cautious and obviously they won’t know until it’s removed and tested ! Tho k o will feel beyt

sorry screen froze , was finished anyway ! Think basically having a huge wobble need to get a grip this op is happening and hopefully after consult will get answers and feel better , Thank you for your support 

Hi Skye. I know everything seems scary at the moment but things will fall into place as time progresses and you will fell better about things. For me it was a matter of putting my head down and just having to get on with it as the alternative was not appealing. I found that the thought of what was ahead after the op was much worse than the fact although there is a fair bit of mental adjustment that I needed to do to come to terms with things. I am now back to most of the things I used to enjoy doing and living a happy life with a few adjustments and you will too.

Please do contact the Macmillan help line and talk to someone as they will be able to give you some coping strategies and support. With the MRI could you do a practice at home by lying down,  closing your eyes for the amount of time it takes to do the MRI and have some music playing or try some distraction techniques e.g. in your mind walking through a pleasant experience such as going to the beach or whatever you enjoy doing. I found this worked well for me and the MRI was over in no time.

Thinking of you and sending positive thoughts.

Lyn