India is the capital for oral cancer. Statistics suggest that 5 people die of oral cancer every hour in India. Unchecked tobacco use remains the main culprit in these cases.
This case highlights the crucial role of early detection, radical treatment, and advanced reconstructive surgery in managing oral cancers and restoring patients' quality of life
A 57 year old male had developed oral squamous cell carcinoma of the lower alveolus and cheek.
Radical Surgery was performed to remove a part of the lower jaw and some portion of the cheek which was involved with the cancer was also removed.
This created a huge deformity of the lower face.
The fibula bone was harvested and transferred to reconstruct the excised portion of the lower face to restore form and function.
The fibula bone was harvested and transferred to reconstruct the excised portion of the lower face to restore form and function.
Often noticed early, tongue cancers, when detected and treated adequately can give good outcomes. With good reconstructive plastic surgery and speech therapy patients with tongue cancer have not only good function but barely perceptible speech problems and do extermely well.
This is a representative case of carcinoma of the lateral border of the tongue. It is the most commonly affected area in the tongue. Tobacco use, sharp tooth trauma and ill-fitting dentures are known contributing factors for this disease. Although, rarely, it can occur in the absence of above factors.
The tumour was removed with a 1cm safety margin as recommended by guidelines.
An important part of treating tongue carcinoma is clearance (systematic removal) of the neck nodes, where this cancer is most likely to spread. This not only ensure removal of hidden (occult) cancerous nodes but also helps in staging the disease. The neck dissection procedure is a mandatory part of tongue cancer surgery
This is the 9-month post-operative function and speech of
the above patient. Continued physiotherapy and speech
therapy will further improve the outcome.
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Another case of tongue cancer which was treated with V-Y
plasty. the background audio is the patients recorded
speech.
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In this case, a more extensive disease required removal of
half of the tongue and reconstruction was done using a
free flap. 1.5 years after the surgery the patient has
near normal speech and function. This highlights the
importance of a well-planned reconstruction in cancer
surgery.
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