Late stage cancer due to being subjective with prolonged mouth ulcers

Having persistent mouth ulcers but not going to the doctor, the man was surprised to receive a diagnosis of late-stage tongue cancer and had to have his entire tongue and floor of the mouth removed.

Surgical intervention for patients.

A male patient over 60 years old, Dao ethnic group, was transferred to Viet Duc Friendship Hospital ( Hanoi ) at the end of July in a state of malnutrition, with a large, hard tumor in the tongue area that had invaded the entire base of the tongue, floor of the mouth and throat wall.

The family said the patient had symptoms of persistent tongue ulcers but did not go to the doctor. For the past 4-5 months, he has not been able to eat or drink, and his body is severely malnourished.

The results of the inter-hospital consultation showed that the patient had a large, hard tumor in the tongue area, with almost no healthy part of the tongue left, causing difficulties in examination, eating and even anesthesia during surgery. X-rays showed that the tumor had spread throughout the entire oral cavity, requiring the removal of the entire tongue, floor of the mouth and neck lymph nodes to remove the cancerous lesion.

Dr. Bui Mai Anh, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, said that this was a rare and serious case. Removing the entire tumor would create a large defect and lose important functional structures of the oral cavity: the entire tongue, base of the tongue, side walls of the throat, floor of the mouth, etc.

Surgery is not just about removing the tumor, but doctors try to restore maximum function of eating, speaking, and swallowing. The plan is very meticulous, from anesthesia (endotracheal intubation, tracheostomy) to post-operative recovery for malnourished patients, with a very high risk of infection and slow wound healing.

The team decided to reconstruct the entire tongue, floor of the mouth, and pharyngeal wall using a free flap taken from the thigh area: Including islands of skin and muscle with a motor nerve graft for the tongue and skin and fat for the pharyngeal wall to partially restore the patient's function.

The surgery took more than 10 hours, with small blood vessels and nerves being reconnected under a surgical microscope.

According to Dr. Mai Anh, if the recovery process goes smoothly, after a while, the tongue muscles will be able to move, helping the patient eat, swallow, and pronounce some simple words.

Oral cancer is the third most common type of head and neck cancer and is easily overlooked in the early stages due to unclear symptoms.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hong Ha, Head of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery - Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, warns people that if they see prolonged ulcers, mouth pain, difficulty chewing, difficulty swallowing, changes in voice or loss of sensation in the tongue area, they should see an ENT or maxillofacial specialist soon.

Many patients are subjective, only when the ability to eat is greatly affected do they go to the doctor, at which point the damage is too late, treatment is much more difficult and expensive. The tongue and floor of the mouth are the intersection of the food and respiratory tracts, have a narrow anatomical structure, and are very difficult to shape when severely damaged.

THIEN LAM

Source: https://nhandan.vn/mac-ung-thu-giai-doan-muon-vi-chu-quan-voi-nhung-vet-loet-vung-mieng-keo-dai-post898730.html