SURGEONS of NMRRC OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION RESTORED THE TONGUE OF A YOUNG PATIENT

Valeria, 35, was admitted to the A. Tsyb Medical Radiological Research Centre – branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Centre” (NMRRC) of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation with a stage 3 malignant tumor of the tongue. Our heroine says that it all started in December 2022, when she began to be bothered by unpleasant sensations in the area of the tongue; after examination she was diagnosed with leukoplakia.

This is an inflammatory process that is accompanied by keratinization of the oral mucous membranes and white plaque. In some cases it passes without trace over time, in others it develops into a precancerous state, and then into cancer of the oral cavity or, as happened to our heroine, the tongue.

Unfortunately, the next six months were spent in various clinics, the girl was prescribed vitamins, cleaning of the oral cavity, gels to heal wounds and ulcers. In July, all discomfort was joined by pain in the throat, after which the doctors decided to remove the palatine tonsils.

After that, the formation on the tongue began to grow in front of my eyes.

It was only in October that a biopsy was performed, which confirmed squamous cell tongue cancer. On the advice of acquaintances, Valeria decided to turn to the A. Tsyb Medical Radiological Research Centre – branch of theNational Medical Research Radiological Centre” (NMRRC) of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

“In our Center, the department of radiation and surgical treatment of diseases of the head and neck is engaged in microsurgery. It is very important to competently carry out treatment, but we must not also forget about the quality of life. Valeria’s treatment started with 3 courses of chemotherapy, which was necessary because of the prevalence of the process. Then we took her for surgery,” says Vyacheslav Polkin, head of the department, Ph.D. of Medical Sciences.

Two teams of surgeons worked on Valeria: the first one performed hemiglossectomy (half of the tongue was removed) and lymphodissection (lymph nodes in the neck area were removed).

The second performed flap harvesting from the left arm. A short while later, the doctors began preparing the vessels in the neck and the flap. The work takes place under a microscope at high magnification. The vessels of the flap are sewn together with the vessels of the neck in order for the flap to be supplied with blood. The flap is then used to form a new neo-tongue.

“In the past, patients faced with malignant growths of the tongue simply had the affected part removed. Restoring the organ was out of the question. Now we can talk about a completely different quality of life for our patients. Of course, it is a long and painstaking work, because doctors manually form the missing part of the tongue, it requires experience and great patience”, says Vyacheslav Viktorovich.

Today Valeria is preparing for discharge, her children and loving husband are waiting for her at home. She has yet to return here for radiation therapy, but the beautiful result is already visible.

She is smiling, talking and getting ready to continue her treatment and fight the disease!