tightness and numbness of cheek muscle after urethroplasty

[amir]

Hello everyone!
I developed stricture during my fight with cancer and after 1.5 years of bleeding and pain had the urethroplasty Dec 15, 2017. After 10 weeks everything looks fine, I’m going pain and blood free again 🙂

My main concern is the stiffness on the ridgeline at the donor site inside my cheek. The ridge has shrunk a lot during the past months but no further change in past two weeks. Also when I open my mouth it is kinda tight. Or when I press inside the cheek I feel the stiffness. When I smile, I feel a little bit of numbness. Finally, I tend to talk fast, and now whenever I do so, the saliva flow from the corner of my lip.

So I was wondering if anyone else had the same experience and if you have any suggestion to improve my condition. Do you think it will go away over time? 🙁

thanks

[Clayton]

I didn’t have any buccal tissue harvested, so I can’t speak from personal experience, but my surgeon very thoroughly explained a lot of it, and I’ve talked to people that have dealt with it.

Did they put stitches in your mouth? When they do it tends to stay tight a bit longer. Regardless of whether they did or not, it’s usually recommended that you work on stretching your cheek out, and over time it should regain much of its elasticity. The numbness should also go away in time, but both of them can take several months in some cases.

There very well could be some permanent damage as well. Its not uncommon for some tightness and numbness to remain indefinitely, but most of it should go away. Although it probably doesn’t feel like it, you’re still early in the recovery phase. A lot of tissue takes over a year to fully heal, and nerves can take even longer. Just hang in there.

Clayton

[poortonykrause]

Hi,

The cheek will definitely stop bothering you soon–I had my surgery over a year ago, and I barely notice it now. Funny thing is, I’ve developed the habit of chewing mostly on the other side of my mouth from avoiding the donor site for several weeks after surgery, but it doesn’t bother me to chew on that side anymore either.

So sorry you had to deal with this after cancer.

Peter

• This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by poortonykrause.

[amir]

Thanks for your response!

My surgeon didn’t talk to me about this (probably long time) side effect at all and I think this is my main complaint.

I didn’t get stitches in the mouth and I wasn’t aware that I should do mouth stretches. Actually, I was trying to keep it shut because of the awkward feeling. I started to stretch is based on your comment and interestingly it has different limitations in different directions.

Knowing even the possibility of improvement is very relieving! thanks!

–amir

[amir]

Hi Peter,
Thanks for your response. So did you have/feel the stiff ridge at the harvesting site too? Did that go away or should we just get used to it until don’t feel it anymore? 🙂

I also avoided chewing on that side and even talking and I’m regretting that because earlier after the surgery it may have helped the elasticity more, I assume.

–amir

[amir]

Update:
I stretched it a lot for a while and things got better up to a point and didn’t improve further so I gave up trying. Yesterday in my 6-months follow-up visit my dr said that it can take up to a year for the scar to get better so it is good to continue exercising. He was suggesting to puff out the chicks every day few times is the best exercise (stretching most regions).

Currently, movement in most direction is fine a little bit tense but fine. The major tightness is for the “kiss” move. I’m going to follow the puffing exersise till the first year and hope for the best.

[Author]

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