A football-size mass of matter, weighing 4.8 kg and measuring 20 x 20 x 20 cm, was recently removed by a team of 12 surgeons at Kochi’s Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in a surgery that lasted 14 hours.
The dense collection of bone and fibrous tissue was diagnosed as “ossifying fibroma” on initial biopsy examination. This led not only to a grotesque appearance, but also difficulty in swallowing and speaking, in addition to social stigma that left the patient home-bound.
The tumour’s removal was complicated due to its huge size and the involvement of the entire upper jaw and the left eye. The amount of blood loss was a cause of worry too, but was controlled by temporarily blocking blood vessels to the upper part of the face. 3D printing to construct an accurate model of the face and tumor, and conducted mock surgery for practice. Micro-surgical transfer of his leg bone was carried out to construct a new upper jaw.