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Understanding Lip and Mouth Cancer
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Surgery - Overview
An operation or surgery is done to remove part or all of the tumour and the area around the tissues.
When your doctor recommends surgery, the type of surgery will depend on:
| • | The size of the cancer |
| • | Where the cancer is in your mouth |
| • | Whether the cancer has spread to the surrounding area |
| • | Whether the neck lymph nodes contain cancer |
| • | Once all the tests are done, your surgeon will talk to you and your family about the type of surgery you will need to remove the cancer. |
There are three goals when treating your cancer with surgery:
| • | To remove all of the cancer cells |
| • | To keep your appearance unchanged as much as possible |
| • | To keep the movement and feeling in your head and neck unchanged as much as possible. |
There are many types of lip and mouth surgery. When surgery is done to remove a lip and mouth tumor, the tumor will be removed along with some normal tissue and sometimes part of the jawbone around the tumor. This is done to make sure that the
Types of Lip and Mouth Surgery:
| • | |
| • | Bone Removal |
| • | |
| • | |
| • | Reconstructive Surgery |
