Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
DEADLY cancers which come in various forms have become a major source of worry with the public being urged to seek medical attention for any unusual growths or abnormalities.
This comes after a successful jaw tumour surgery conducted at Parirenyatwa Group of hospitals recently.
Mr Laston Kwinika of Beitbridge is on the road to recovery after a successful surgery at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals to remove a tumor that had plagued him for 17 years.
The slow-growing tumor, had grown to cover most of his lower jaw, causing difficulty in eating and speaking.
“My husband‘s illness started in 2007. It started as a small pimple on the gums and we thought it was a boil. We bought some medication for the boil, but nothing helped. We even went to South Africa, but we didn’t get any help. It kept on getting bigger and bigger then last year it started bleeding and there was also pus coming out of the wound. The blood was too much.
“We would use a bucket whenever he started bleeding and after that he would be very weak then he would be put on a drip. We went to Beitbridge hospital and we were referred to Bulawayo then to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. I did not have any money. We had sold all our cattle and donkeys. So one day I thought of appealing for help to the public that’s when I approached a journalist who helped publicise my story and that’s how I got assistance,” explained Kwinika’s wife, Ms Milliet Ndou.
A team led by specialist consultant Professor Midion Chidzonga, including Dr Chuma and a nursing team led by Sister Nyamhunga performed the complex four-hour surgery.
“Our patient came in with a huge lower jaw mass which was suspected to be what we call a namelo blastoma. This is a slow growing tumour that grows painlessly over time, but then it invades the local tissues.It has destroyed much and most part of the jaw,especially the teeth bearing area so we went for surgery to remove that part of the jaw that had been affected by this tumour which unfortunately included all the part that had his lower teeth.
“He underwent a four hour operation last week on Tuesday. We had to use a temporary plate to cover the defect that was left after we removed the tumour. Our hope is that we will go back to theatre in six months’ time,” said Dr Nyakudya.
“To everyone who assisted my husband, I just want to extend my gratitude and the doctors too as they really assisted our family. They know their job, I never thought the mass would disappear. I was shocked when i saw him after the operation. Am really grateful,” noted Ms Ndou.
Even after the successful surgery, Dr Nyakudya emphasises the importance of early diagnosis.
“The major challenge is the late presentation because this is a slow painless growing mass. Most patients cite financial challenges or religious or traditional beliefs. They almost always come to hospital late and obviously they then present with these huge masses which will make both the operation very difficult and the defect thereafter post-operative very difficult to rehabilitate normal function.
“Our plea and prayer as doctors with regards these masses is that the moment you see that there is something abnormal happening anywhere on your body it is very important to seek treatment as early as possible, it is cheap, it is simple to operate and the defects are usually easy to correct rather than coming late. The operation becomes complicated and the defect becomes very huge and the cost of trying to reconstruct becomes very high and sometimes even impossible.”
Mr Kwinika is expected back in theatre after six months, with doctors expected to perform fibula bone graft using a bone from his leg to create a new lower jaw for reconstruction and implantation of artificial teeth.
