8 hours of tongue reconstruction surgery for cancer patient

A patient with cancer in the left tongue area has just had successful microsurgery to reconstruct the tongue at Military Hospital 175 (Ministry of National Defense).

Doctors at Military Hospital 175 performed microsurgery to reconstruct the tongue of a patient with a tumor in the left tongue area - Photo: BVCC

According to information from Military Hospital 175, about 4 months ago, Mr. NXĐ. (born in 1999) discovered a tumor in the left tongue area. When Military Hospital 175 received him, the cancer had metastasized to the submandibular lymph nodes on the same side.

Dr. Nguyen Trong Duc - Head of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery - said that in the treatment of tongue and floor of mouth cancer, the reconstruction of the damaged organ after tumor removal will restore the patient's physical appearance, speaking and swallowing functions. This will not affect the patient's ability to integrate into the community.

Doctor Do Van Tu - Department of maxillofacial surgery and plastic surgery (175 Military Hospital) - added that after examination, the patient was indicated for wide excision of the tumor, immediate biopsy of the cut surface, and dissection of the ipsilateral neck lymph nodes. The doctors reconstructed the tongue using a microsurgical anterior lateral thigh flap.

The surgery lasted 8 hours with two teams working in parallel. The patient underwent wide excision of the lesion with immediate biopsy of the excisional surface, ipsilateral neck lymph node dissection, and flap augmentation to reconstruct the damaged organ.

After surgery, the patient recovered well. The reconstructed tongue had a pink flap, little swelling and bleeding when pricked. The incisions in the neck and thighs healed well. The patient could also walk, practice swallowing through the mouth, and tongue function was gradually restored.

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