Unique organ reconstruction surgery performed at Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jaipur, Rajasthan

A unique organ reconstruction surgery has been performed at Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (BMCHRC). This successful surgery effectively helped in removing oral cancer tumor in addition to reconstructing the cheek, jaw and faringe of the patient with a new and innovative technique leading to a faster recovery and considerably cutting down the treatment expenses.

The recipient of the surgery, a 42-year-old Jaipur resident Kallo Devi is being treated at the hospital for left cheek cancer. Post diagnosis it was established that the patient requires surgery and therefore doctor removed the tumor from the left cheek. Post removal of tumor, plastic surgeon reconstructed mouth, faringe and upper part of the neck.

The surgery has been performed by Dr Umesh Bansal, assistant consultant of plastic and reconstructive department, BMCHRC.

“This kind of reconstruction generally requires skin, bones and muscles, which are usually taken from different body parts like hands, legs, thighs and sometimes even from shoulder,” said Dr Bansal. “Here, we adopted for a new form of surgery wherein different techniques were combined as one in which skin, muscles and bones of lower part of the leg were used to create cheek, jaw and faringe,” explained Dr Bansal.

Under routine surgery technique, it takes 8 to 10 hours whereas in this new technique time frame has critically reduced to five hours.

“In all the cases reported in international journals, surgery has been conducted using skin, bones and muscles from minimum two body parts which is termed as ‘Double Free Flap Reconstruction Surgery’, it is for the first time that ‘Single Flap Technique’ has been used at BMCHRC for this kind of extensive and elaborate defect correction,” Dr. Bansal further added.