Microsurgery saves tongue cancer patient

Recently, doctors at the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery, E Hospital, received and successfully operated on a patient with dangerous tongue cancer using microsurgery.

Currently, this technique is considered a high-level technique in reconstructive surgery and treatment of maxillofacial cancers, implemented by doctors at E Hospital and has saved the lives of many patients.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Nhung, Department of Dentistry, E Hospital, examines a patient.

According to Dr. Nguyen Hong Nhung, Department of Dentistry, E Hospital, this is a case of a 70-year-old female patient from Hanoi who was admitted with chronic tongue pain that did not improve with self-medication.

Upon admitting the patient, the doctors discovered a tumor in the patient's oral cavity about 6cm in size, hard, with many lobes and cusps, infiltrating the surrounding area, spreading to the back of the tongue, the base of the tongue and the left floor of the mouth. On the surface of the tumor, there were ulcers, uneven concavities, many pseudomembranes, limited tongue movement, and metastasis to the left submandibular lymph nodes...

Through clinical examination and necessary test and imaging results, doctors determined that the patient had malignant tumor of the tongue margin/cancer of the tongue margin and therefore provided a quick treatment plan to avoid complications that could endanger the patient's life.

Taking the medical history, the patient has a history of meningitis and high blood pressure. Currently, due to old age, the patient suffers from senile dementia, so the family members do not detect the disease.

According to her daughter, the patient frequently pointed to her mouth and complained of mouth pain, so the family thought she had a toothache and took her to a dental clinic for examination.

However, after examining the patient's teeth, the doctors discovered abnormalities and ordered a biopsy to screen for any possible risks.

After receiving the biopsy results, the family was shocked to learn of the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma. At this time, through the mass media, the family learned about the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery at E Hospital, a medical facility with a team of highly qualified and skilled doctors and modern medical equipment...

In this patient's case, upon admission to the hospital, doctors from the Department of Dentistry, E Hospital, thoroughly examined him, performed specialized, modern tests to accurately diagnose and provide timely treatment to ensure the patient's safety.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Nhung, the doctor who directly performed this surgery, shared that this is one of the most common types of oral cancer, endangering the patient's life.

Currently, there is no definitive conclusion about the main cause of tongue cancer; however, some risk factors include prolonged alcohol and smoking habits, poor oral hygiene, unhealthy eating habits, unsafe oral sex, and genetics.

The initial symptoms of tongue cancer are unclear, faint, and often easily confused with other common oral diseases, making them difficult to detect in the early stages.

Therefore, many cases are detected at a late stage, making it difficult for doctors to treat patients.

In this patient's case, because the patient was confused, he sometimes remembered and sometimes forgot the location of the pain. The family subjectively did not think it was cancer, so they did not take the patient for timely examination.

By the time the patient was admitted to the hospital, the disease was already in a late stage (stage T3) with the tumor size exceeding 4cm, invading the entire oral mucosa, including the muscle, blood vessels, and surrounding tissues of the tongue.

Therefore, the optimal treatment for this patient is to remove the entire tumor and related areas, followed by tongue reconstruction using a microsurgical flap.

Surgeons performed a wide excision of the cancerous mass of the floor of the mouth and half of the tongue, along with neck lymph node dissection to prevent the tumor from invading other areas.

After the tumor was removed, a large defect was left in the tongue and the pelvic floor of the mouth. This defect required reconstruction using a microsurgical vascularized tissue flap. Subsequently, the reconstruction of the tongue and floor of the mouth was not possible due to the extensive nature of the cancer and the removal of half of the tongue.

Therefore, the surgical team chose to use a skin flap from the right arm to create the tongue. The flap was dissected with a long vascular pedicle, then cut off and transferred to the oral cavity to create the tongue and floor of the mouth. The vascular pedicle of the flap was passed under the skin, over the lower jawbone to the neck area.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Nhung added that such microplastic surgeries usually last about 8 - 10 hours. After surgery, the patient can stop the pain, practice swallowing, practice speaking and life can return to normal.

Currently, doctors at E Hospital have applied micro-surgery flap plastic surgery techniques to treat many cases of diseases related to maxillofacial cancer, especially oral cancer, with many good results, bringing high treatment efficiency to cancer patients, while helping to restore function, anatomy, aesthetics as well as psychology, improving the quality of life for patients.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Nhung warns that early signs of tongue cancer are often quite faint and easily overlooked, early detection of the disease has a great impact on treatment outcomes.

Therefore, when experiencing any unusual symptoms in the tongue, cheeks, or any location in the oral cavity... you need to immediately go to a reputable medical facility for timely examination and treatment.

In addition, people at high risk of the disease should also be screened regularly for cancer to detect the disease early. Especially people over 40 years old, with a history of smoking, drinking alcohol and people with unsafe sexual habits... need to be screened for tongue cancer.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/phau-thuat-vi-phau-cuu-benh-nhan-ung-thu-luoi-d225056.html