INVC NEWS
Chennai,
MGM Healthcare, a multi-specialty quaternary care hospital in the heart of the city, announced the 
successful complex single-stage jaw implant reconstructive surgery for advanced and neck cancer amidst the ongoing COVID pandemic.
The complex procedure was performed on a 75-year-old man, who was a chronic tobacco user. He visited MGM’s Institute of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery with complaints of difficulty in opening mouth, chewing food and chronic jaw pain along with right sided facial pain progressively increasing by the day. The patient was then evaluated by Prof Dr. Sanjeev Mohanty, Senior Consultant & Head of the Institute of ENT, Head & Neck Surgery and his team of surgeons. The patient was diagnosed with Stage IV Cancer of the jaw bone with metastasis to lymph nodes of the neck using evidence-based science. The team decided that surgical clearance based on oncology principles both of the primary and the secondary site would be the optimal treatment. Patient was counselled regarding various aspects of definitive treatment.
The patient then underwent a radical removal of the right half of his jaw bone and affected portion of the left side along with the affected lymph nodes in the neck using the advanced surgical techniques available at MGM Healthcare. A MRI compatible pre-fabricated titanium reconstruction plate with a condylar prosthesis implant of appropriate size was used to reconstruct the jaw in the same sitting. The reconstructive surgery was ably supported by Dr. Abhilash Ayalur Bhaskaran, Senior Consultant Maxillofacial and Dental Surgery and assisted by his team.
Commenting on the success of the surgery, Prof Dr. Sanjeev Mohanty, Senior Consultant & Head of the Institute of ENT, Head & Neck Surgery, “ The ongoing pandemic is a tough time for those seeking expert medical treatment, especially advanced malignancy. These patients are prone for complications and any delay in decision making is compounded by the fear of patients’ contracting COVID – 19 during hospital visits. This case was quite complex, as it not just involved surgery but also the reconstruction of the facial symmetry post the procedure, so that the patient does not face any mental trauma based on his facial appearance post operatively. We ensured that the patient was counselled and educated about the procedure that he will be undergoing so he could be prepared for it and the follow up thereafter. Overall, this was yet another endearing patient success story in desperate times during the lockdown period.”
Following the procedure, the patient was fed through a nasogastric tube and his breathing was through a tube placed in the windpipe. The patient recovered rapidly after the surgery and the tubes were removed within a week and was discharged on the 10th day after the surgery with his swallowing and breathing function intact along with the restoration of facial symmetry as well. The patient has started to eat normally after a long period of deprivation due to this condition of advanced cancer.
