by Health Editor
The record surgery was carried out by the team of Professor Alessandro Baj, head of the UOC of Maxillofacial Surgery of the IRCCS Galeazzi-Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, thanks also to the help of cutting-edge technologies and 3D printing
One kilo and four hundred grams the weight of a jaw bone neoplasm removed from Angelo’s face (38 years old) by the team of Professor Alessandro Baj, head of the UOC of Maxillofacial Surgery of the IRCCS Galeazzi-Sant’Ambrogio of Milan . The tumor, very aggressive even if benign, had been discovered over twenty years ago and was growing so dramatically that it compromised the mouth, jaw, oral cavity and made it almost impossible to swallow, eat and breathe.
The tumor
We are faced with a primitive bone neoplasm, the causes of which are to be found in genetics. The tissue of origin is that of the tooth enamel, which undergoes an aberration during its development, which is followed by a transcription error in the DNA that the correction systems of our body are unable to deal with, says Alessandro Baj, who is also a professor associate of Maxillofacial Surgery of the Department of Biomedical, surgical and dental sciences of the University of Milan and Director of the School of Specialization in Maxillofacial Surgery. The exceptional nature of the operation, which lasted 8 hours, required careful planning which was carried out thanks to the use of cutting-edge technologies and 3D printing which made it possible to reproduce the skeleton of the patient’s head and then simulate the intervention virtually. All the components used in the operating room, from the screws to the plates, were custom designed, while the mandible was reconstructed using a portion of fibula bone from the patient himself.
The intervention
It is a demanding and complex operation, also given the considerable size of the mass, but which presents a low possibility of complications especially in young patients, as Professor Baj adds in this case. The success rate is very high, however it is possible to have a recurrence, therefore the post-operative follow-up will be 5 years, exactly as happens for some malignant tumours. Waiting for Angelo there will be a new operation which involves the implantation of the teeth, the restoration of the functionality of the lip and mouth, the improvement of the scar on the neck and the removal of excess skin. The face is our business card, the first element that people notice and remember about us. So it was important for me that my patient could recognize himself again by looking in the mirror, that he find himself in that image that has been disfigured for years and that has caused him so much suffering in the body, but also in the mind concludes the surgeon.
July 4, 2023 (change July 4, 2023 | 5:09 pm)
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