BARI - The maxillofacial team of the Bari Polyclinic reconstructed a portion of the jaw of a 10-year-old girl removed because she was attacked by a rare malignant tumour, Ewing's sarcoma.
The delicate operation was performed by the Bari professor Chiara Copelli at the 'Santobono' hospital in Naples.
To reconstruct the jaw, a segment of fibula bone was taken from the child, then modeled and implanted.
"The traditional removal would have involved the removal of a portion of the jaw. The results of this procedure - reads a note from the Bari Polyclinic - in the absence of a reconstruction, lead to extremely disabling and permanent problems: facial deformities, difficulty in nutrition and in the articulation of words.
"The reconstruction surgery carried out - explains Professor Copelli - involved the removal of a bone segment from the fibula, its modeling to recreate the shape of the removed portion of the jaw and the subsequent transplantation in the area to be reconstructed. This last phase it is carried out under a microscope and involves the execution of connections between arterial and venous vessels with a diameter of a few millimeters".
The complex reconstructive oncological surgery was possible "thanks to the collaboration of the general and health managements of the structures involved to bring together the multidisciplinary team".
In addition to Professor Chiara Copelli, Dr. Marcello Zamparelli, director of the plastic surgery and burns surgery unit of the Santobono Hospital in Naples and Dr. Franco Ionna, director of the head and neck surgery unit of the Irccs Pascale Institute of Naples.
The post-operative course went smoothly and without complications.