Ranchi (Jharkhand): In a first, an ENT surgeon of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIIMS) in Ranchi, Jharkhand, has achieved a rare medical feat. Dr Jahid Ansari replaced a patient's cancerous tongue with a healthy one using the tissues from his hand.
The patient Sunil Kumar from Saraikela was being treated for oral cancer at the ENT department of the medial institute. On Monday, he underwent a surgery during which Dr Jahid Ansari removed the malignant portion of the tongue and grafted a new one in its place. The patient, for now, is doing fine. "The medical condition of the patient was deteriorating every day. The cancerous cell had started spreading in the patient's body and nodes were formed in his neck portion. The situation was alarming and any delay could have been life-threatening for him," said Dr. Ansari.
"The nodes which had formed around his neck were also operated upon and removed. Head of the department of plastic surgery Dr Vikrant developed a new tongue after taking healthy tissues from the patient's hands and it was later successfully grafted. The patient is recuperating and even his taste buds are sensing the flavour," Dr Ansari said.
Doctors at the institute said that such surgery requires a lot of medical expenses as well as hospital admission in a large city. "Those who are in the habit of chewing Gutkha and Paan laced with betel nuts develop pointed tooth which causes oral cancer," one of the doctors said.
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