Tongue of cancer patient reconstructed at GMCH-32

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 4

Adding another feather to its cap, the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, reconstructed the tongue of a patient suffering from oral cancer. Half of the tongue of a patient, who came to the hospital with advanced tongue cancer, had to be removed, said Dr Anand Gupta, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Department of Dentistry, GMCH.

The cut portion of the tongue was reconstructed by grafting the tissue from the patient’s own chin region, said Dr Gupta, who performed the surgery. The donor site was completely closed without any need of skin graft, he added.

“The major advantage of the surgery is that it is very quick and volume of tongue tissue replaced is so adequate that normal functions of tongue like speech and swallowing remain intact and patient’s quality of life is very good,” he added.

Prof BS Chavan, Director-Principal, GMCH, said, “The hospital is getting large number of oral cancer patients, particularly after allotting 40 beds to the Department of Radiotherapy in Sector 48 hospital.”

“In order to cope with the increased workload of cancer patients, the department has been provided with four additional doctors from the GMCH common pool,” he said.

“However, it is sad to note that large number of patients are reaching very late. If these cases of oral cancer seek treatment at an early stage, they can be managed only with non-surgical treatment. The early signs of oral cancer include swelling in the oral cavity, non-healing ulcer, a white or reddish patch and mouth pain. More than 90% of oral cancer is seen among tobacco users,” he added.