Kelly progressing ‘remarkably well’ after cancer surgery

Jim Kelly is progressing so “remarkably well” two weeks after surgery to have cancer removed from his jaw, his doctor expects the Hall of Fame quarterback to be released from the hospital soon.

“I’m very optimistic,” said Mount Sinai head and neck surgeon Mark Urken in a 20-minute video interview released Friday by the New York City hospital. “He is about as tough a patient — tough in a good way — in terms of being just incredibly courageous, and he continues to amaze me.”

Though Kelly is still unable to chew, he is now being fed orally in what Urken called: “a huge milestone and a segue for him to be able to leave the hospital.” Urken did not provide an exact timetable of when the former Bills star might be discharged and return to his home in suburban Buffalo.

A Mount Sinai official was only able to say Kelly won’t be released from the hospital on Friday.

Urken said he’s very optimistic Kelly will regain the same speech and eating functions as he had before undergoing the 12-hour operation. Several follow-up procedures will be required, including

having dentures inserted into Kelly’s upper jaw.

“I expect that he’s going to recover really excellent function; his speech, I expect will be outstanding,” Urken said. “And I really expect that he will be able to resume a normal diet once we get him fitted with teeth.”

Kelly was required to have surgery after tests revealed a recurrence of oral cancer nearly five years after initially being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. The 58-year-old Kelly had been cancer-free since September 2014.

The operation involved doctors first removing the cancer from Kelly’s palate and portions of the bone that support his teeth on the right side of his face. Doctors were also required to address the left jawbone, which had previously been reconstructed after it had weakened as a result of radiation therapy.

Doctors then reconstructed Kelly’s jaw by transferring bone from his fibula, as well as using skin grafts from his calf to reline his oral cavity. Blood vessels also had to be transferred to allow for proper circulation to the affected area.