Military Hospital 175 reconstructs tongue for cancer patient

NDO - On March 20, Military Hospital 175 announced that the unit had performed microsurgery to reconstruct the tongue of a young man named NX D, born in 1999. The patient had a tumor in the left tongue area and was discovered about 4 months before being admitted to the hospital.

The patient was admitted to Military Hospital 175 and was examined by a team of doctors, had a biopsy of the lesion, aspirated the submandibular lymph nodes, and had an MRI of the head, face, and neck evaluated.

The patient was diagnosed with left tongue cancer, with metastasis to the ipsilateral submandibular lymph nodes.

According to Master, Doctor Do Van Tu, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Plastic Surgery, Military Hospital 175, said: “The patient was indicated for wide excision of the tumor, immediate biopsy of the cut surface, and dissection of the ipsilateral neck lymph nodes. The doctors quickly performed tongue reconstruction using a microsurgical anterior lateral thigh flap. The surgery lasted 8 hours, with two teams performing the surgery in parallel. Surgical team 01, the doctors performed wide excision of the lesion with immediate biopsy of the cut surface, and dissection of the ipsilateral neck lymph nodes. Surgical team 02, the patient was performed flap lifting technique to reconstruct the damaged organ.”

“Given the patient’s condition, we used an anterior lateral thigh flap. The surgeons used a flap thinning technique. During the flap lift, the surgeons created a thin, soft material that resembled the damaged organ while still ensuring good blood supply to the flap. Thanks to that, the patient’s tongue was restored well in shape and function,” added Master, Doctor Do Van Tu, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Plastic Surgery.

After surgery, the patient recovered well. The patient's reconstructed tongue had a pink flap, little swelling and bleeding when pricked. The incisions in the neck and thighs healed well. The patient could walk, practice swallowing through the mouth, and tongue function was gradually restored.

According to Specialist II Doctor Nguyen Trong Duc, Head of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Plastic Surgery, said: “In the treatment of tongue and floor cancer, the reconstruction of the damaged organ after tumor removal plays an important role. The reconstruction solution helps patients restore their physical appearance, speaking and swallowing functions, which is of great significance to the patient's ability to integrate into the community.

The technique of using free flaps in the reconstruction of tongue and floor of mouth defects after tumor removal in the treatment of tongue and floor of mouth cancer brings many benefits such as: Providing shaping materials with sufficient size, composition, and flexibility, microsurgical vascular anastomosis technique brings good blood supply to the flap. Thanks to the development of microsurgery, patients have more reconstructive solutions in the treatment of tongue cancer and other diseases.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/benh-vien-quan-y-175-tai-tao-luoi-cho-benh-nhan-ung-thu-post866459.html