New Delhi: Using flesh from the thigh, doctors at a private hospital have reconstructed the tongue of a patient suffering from oral cancer.
Though the patient’s speech quality has improved post surgery, his new tongue is devoid of taste buds.
The patient, a native of Faridabad, was suffering with pain in the mouth, inability to eat and difficulty in speech for the last two and half months.
“On evaluation, he was found to be having a cancer arising from ventral aspect of the tongue going into the floor of mouth involving almost entire tongue and abutting the jaw bones in its entire extent,” said Dr Nitin Singhal, surgical oncologist at Fortis Hospital.
The patient was a chronic smoker and tobacco chewer and also took alcohol occasionally.
The patient was diagnosed with cancer in the tongue at some other hospital and was given the option of surgery but he did not opt for it fearing it would lead to a significant deformity of his face.
