A father of three, who was suffering from a rare nasal tumour that threatened to wreck his face, got back his original look after doctors at BLK Super Speciality Hospital performed a 12-hour reconstructive surgery.
“The doctors did get rid of the cancerous tumour, but this had to be done only after removing the skull bone and major facial bones. Face was reconstructed subsequently, retaining the original one, and a new life was given to Rajendra Prasad Aggarwal,” said Dr. Kapil Kumar, Director and HoD, Surgical Oncology, BLK Cancer Centre, BLK Super Speciality Hospital, on Wednesday.
The patient, a resident of Rohini, was admitted in the last week of May with complaints of bleeding from nose, headache, mild fever, post-nasal discharge, swelling in the face, and eye enlargement.
“Investigations showed a rare type of cancer caused by secretory glands, which in medical terms is called Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma,’’ said Dr. Tapaswini Pradhan, head & neck oncologist at the hospital.
Doctors found that the cancer was spreading across the face making it difficult to begin the treatment. “After consultation with other team members, including the reconstructive plastic surgeon, head neck surgeon, neurosurgeons, and the anaesthetist, we decided to approach the tumour from above and below the face. This gave a better exposure, thereby ensuring complete tumour removal without causing damage to the brain, nerves and other major structures,’’ said Dr. Pradhan.
Dr. Vikas Gupta, head, neurosurgery, said, “The approach to the tumour was made through the first incision over the face and the second over the scalp. Part of the skull bone was initially removed to enter the brain, which was then replaced and fixed with screws at the end of the procedure.” “Once the deadly tumour was removed, it was time to reconstruct his face and he was kept under specialised care,” he added.
Then the final phase involving ‘plugging all the gaps and holes’ and giving a shape to the lost contour of the face began. “The reconstruction of these kinds of defects is challenging in order to maintain the original face. In Mr. Aggarwal’s case, the cheek bones were reconstructed along with the nasal bone. Also the wall of the orbit in which the eye globe was positioned was at the level of the opposite eye thereby retaining a functional eye. The contouring with this material has been so aptly performed that it may actually be difficult to distinguish the loss of bones in these areas,’’ said Dr. Sandeep Mehta, Onco-reconstructive surgeon at the hospital. Head and neck cancers account for more than 5,60,000 cases all over the world, ranking sixth in comparison to all cancers. Over two lakh cases of head and neck cancer occur each year in India, besides nearly 80,000 oral cancer cases.
“The doctors did get rid of cancerous tumour, but this
had to be done after
removing the skull bone
and major facial bones”
