Patients Age: 66
Admission Date: 4/11/2018
Admitted From: Vanderbilt Medical Center
Discharge Date: Still in-house
Discharged To: Private Home
Length of Stay: 19 days as of 4/30/2018
Reason for Stay: Tongue Cancer
How did patient hear about Bethany Center for Rehabilitation and Healing?

Details of Experience:

Mr. Springer is a 66 year-old-male who was admitted to Bethany Center after a six-night stay at Vanderbilt Medical Center. He was diagnosed with oral cavity carcinoma (tongue cancer) and was admitted to Vanderbilt on April 5th, 2018, for extensive surgical procedures to help rid himself of the cancer. While admitted, he had the following procedures: laryngoscopy, partial glossectomy, right neck dissection, left neck dissection, autograft LE, tracheostomy placed, Dobhoff placed, exploration of head and neck, free flap reconstruction and lastly, and excision of the salivary gland. He was successfully removed from the ventilator and tracheostomy closed on April 10th, 2018.

Upon admission, Mr. Springer was being fed completely via the Dobhoff tube due to the extensive surgeries. Even though he had been through so much prior to arriving to Bethany for therapy, his outlook towards recovery has stayed positive. He was physically weak and needed some strengthening, so physical and occupational therapy sessions were more like daily exercise for him. His main focus has been and continues to be, speech therapy. After the removal of part of his tongue, they took donor tissue/muscle and made a new tongue for him to assist with speech and swallowing.

He has gradually improved. He has been upgraded to a pureed diet and is able to consume regular liquids. Mr. Springer will only receive bolus tube feeding if he doesn’t consume enough of his given meals to meet his daily caloric needs. His speech has greatly improved along with his swallowing. Mr. Springer has appointments coming up in May, hopefully, to remove the Dobhoff tube.

Overall, Mr. Springer has worked very hard during his time here at Bethany Center and his positive attitude and genuinely happy demeanor has been wonderful to see. He’s looking forward to being able to go home and continue on his journey to staying cancer free. We at Bethany Center will continue to be here every step of the way.