(16F) with tongue cancer, a less serious question

Patient

Hi!! Thank you to all of those who have responded to my previous post on this subject and offering advice or even just kind words, it already helped me a lot just hearing it, even if I wasn't able to respond to all of them.

I'm returning to you with a question that's not even too recovery-related, and is something much more mundane rather than serious.

I just kinda want to know, will the reconstructed part of my tongue ever look semi-normal again?

I'm aware that it's very likely if not surely going to remain numb and that my taste on that part of the "tongue" is not going to be there, but what I kind of want to know is whether after the swelling subsides it will still look extremely out of place, or just somewhat different, not completely jarring.

I know that the texture is going to be much different, since it's just not the same tissue and it wasn't there originally, but what is it going to wind up looking like, aesthetically speaking?

(In case you haven't read my previous post (and can't blame you if you don't want to, I really used those writing skills there and turned it into half an essay) it's going to be about a 2cmx2cm part of my tongue being surgically removed and replaced with either tissue from my thigh or lower abdomen)

Posted Jul 6, 2026, 9:04 PM UTC

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