A 40-year-old man suffering from a tumour-like swelling in lower jaw, which prevented him from chewing food for many years, was given a new lease of life at the Government General Hospital in Guntur.
The Head of Department of Plastic Surgery, Sumitha Shankar, said that the man had not been able to swallow food as his whole mouth was filled with tumour and tongue was also pushed behind. Since the patient does not have any relative, no one was willing to take up the case.
Later, he was admitted to the GGH, and on September 2, a team led by Dr. Shankar removed the tumour after a three-hour surgery. The jaw was temporarily reconstructed with a plate.
Dr. Shankar said that they would be able to judge the exact dimensions for reconstruction only after the patient settles. Implant will be created using 3-D printing, one of its kind in the country, she added.
