Timing was everything for patient’s second round of tongue cancer

“Life goes to death; it’s going to happen to everybody,” says Allen (Bo) Brownen. “This just wasn’t my time yet.”

Brownen’s cancer fight started in 2022 with a win against lung cancer. Then, he got a spot on his tongue.

A surgeon removed a quarter of the organ to remove the cancer, and the patient had 33 radiation treatments. Unfortunately, the spot returned. That’s when Brownen was referred to Mohamad Saltagi, MD, an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist and Head and Neck surgeon.

“He was actually the first patient I saw on my first day in clinic,” says Saltagi, who started seeing patients in Bloomington in September 2024.

“Historically, these patients were sent to Indianapolis for advanced head and neck oncogologic surgery and reconstruction, and I’m excited to provide some of these patients the expert surgical care they need here in Bloomington.”

Brownen’s 12-hour free flap surgery was a few weeks after that first meeting and required the removal of the whole left side of the tongue. The reconstruction required a free flap from the arm and a skin graft from the thigh to cover the arm.

“Having the cancer removed with a free flap gives the patient a better chance of regaining the ability to speak clearly, eat normally, drink normally and look closely to their own previous facial appearance,” says Michelle Hammack, RN, who is Saltagi’s main nurse. “In turn, they can return to a better quality of life, being able to enjoy their family, holidays, graduations and more.”

Brownen spent a little over a week the hospital with a trach, feeding tube and pain medication, before he was able to go back home without the trach. The feeding tube and pain medications aren’t needed now either, but there’s still healing left to do.

“My tongue is still swelled up,” says Brownen. “It’s going to go down a little bit more. So, I’ll be able to use it better and speak plainer, hopefully.”

Watch the video below to learn more.