Majeed, age 53, was diagnosed with chondroblastic osteosarcoma (COS), a kind of cancer that most often affects the head and neck areas.
The incidence of osteosarcoma of the jaws is very low, with an estimate of one case occurring for every one million people per year. The jaw tumor was 20 centimeters in length, 15 centimeters in width, and 10 centimeters in height. The reconstruction of the patient’s lower jaw took place at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), where the patient also had surgery to remove the tumor. A 12-hour operation was performed to remove the tumor, along with the patient’s lower jaw. Using the bone from his leg, a new lower jaw was rebuilt for him. After the operation, he lost the ability to move his lips. In addition to that, we recreated his lips. After three weeks, he was able to eat and communicate, and he is doing well today,” said Dr. Subramania Iyer, chairman of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery at AIMS. Iyer led the 12-person team that treated the patient.
In 2008, Majeed was diagnosed with COS when a tumor began to develop on the lower right side of his right jaw. At the time, he was the proprietor of a grocery store in Palakkad. A portion of his jaw had to be surgically removed during his treatment at a cancer center in the state. However, the condition returned two years later, this time affecting the lower right jaw, and he required more surgical treatment. By the year 2016, a recurrence of COS has been seen on the opposite side of the jaw.
It was at this time that he learned of a case in which physicians at AIMS removed a 4.8-kilogram tumor from the upper jaw of a youngster called Amar who was from Jharkhand.
The tumor that Amar had was noncancerous, while the one that Majeed had was cancerous. Because there was no basis to fix it, the excision of the tumor and rebuilding of Majeed’s lower jaw presented a significant problem. “Dr. Iyer explained that this was a particularly difficult case.” “However, Majeed had a mild form of cancer, and he was still young. Following the excision of the jaw bone, we found that the likelihood of a recurrence may be decreased,” he said.
Before proceeding with the operation, the physicians made certain that the cancer had not spread to any other parts of the body. Due to the enormous size of the tumor as well as its interaction with the lower jaw, its removal was a difficult process. The quantity of blood loss was a reason for concern, but it was reduced by stopping blood arteries that were leading to that portion of the face. “Since there was nothing left of the lower jaw, we attached the leg bone to the upper jaw using titanium plates, and we attached it to the skull using wires.” After a period of six months, the plates will be removed, but the wires will be allowed to stay,” said Dr. Iyer.
