Nagpur: Archana (name changed) was married for four months when mucormycosis left her face disfigured.
The 27-year old now waits for doctors to fix the permanent prosthetic which may bring back her looks and along with it normal life. It may take around three months for it to be finally ready. The doctors are working on making implants that would exactly match her earlier looks.
An IT professional posted in Mumbai, she is now recovering at Chandrapur.
In a way an archaeologist or anthropologist would use skeletal remains to create probable looks of a person died centuries ago, a 3-D image of Archana’s face will be generated on a computer programme. Based on it, bones of the same size that were removed due to mucormycosis will be made. It’s called a stereolithographic model of the face that would provide the exact dimensions to make the prosthetic, said doctors and added that Archana may look the same or very close to it.
For Archana, the whole process cost Rs1.5 lakh and has been covered under insurance too.
A known technology though it has not been a common procedure as such, doctors are now trying it for mucormycosis patients whose facial bones have been removed. “The procedure normally happens in cases of a severe injury or gunshot wounds,” said a doctor.
With mucormycosis new to even doctors, it’s hoped that customized prosthetics may bring a ray of hope for a number of patients like Archana.
Dr Vipin Dehane from Kingsway Hospital who is treating Archana said that in her case not only the maxilla (upper jaw bone) but even the palate bone (part touches the tongue from upper side) was removed leaving a hollow above. “Given her age, getting face restored was the first priority,” he said.
He further said that a conventional teeth implant is fixed on the maxilla, which was removed in this case, leading to the need of creating new bones matching the original looks.
Archana said that it initially left a psychological impact on her. “I was married in January and in April I got admitted due to Covid. I also felt a severe jaw pain at that time. After going to the dentist first, it was finally confirmed that it was mucormycosis,” she said.
Able to speak clearly, she now puts a denture. “The face is not exactly the same. The disfigurement will go only after the permanent implant is put,” said Archana putting up a brave face.
According to Dr Dehane, another 25-year-old patient form Madhya Pradesh will also be undergoing the same procedure.
The procedure has been adopted for a number of other patients too.
Dr Raman Bonde from Amravati said that he has operated as many as 50 patients of mucormycosis infection. “Now, the restoration procedure would begin,” he said.
“Stereolithographic model is normally used for patients of severe injury or gun shots. It is expected to work on those operated for mucormycosis too. Only time will tell how successful the method has been in the long run,” he said.
Dr Rahul Atara, an endodontist who was part of the team, said that the method is not very popular but conventional implant was not working on the patient. “After a bit of study this was found to be suitable for mucormycosis patients. It’s an established procedure but not tried much here,” he said.
The 27-year old now waits for doctors to fix the permanent prosthetic which may bring back her looks and along with it normal life. It may take around three months for it to be finally ready. The doctors are working on making implants that would exactly match her earlier looks.
An IT professional posted in Mumbai, she is now recovering at Chandrapur.
In a way an archaeologist or anthropologist would use skeletal remains to create probable looks of a person died centuries ago, a 3-D image of Archana’s face will be generated on a computer programme. Based on it, bones of the same size that were removed due to mucormycosis will be made. It’s called a stereolithographic model of the face that would provide the exact dimensions to make the prosthetic, said doctors and added that Archana may look the same or very close to it.
For Archana, the whole process cost Rs1.5 lakh and has been covered under insurance too.
A known technology though it has not been a common procedure as such, doctors are now trying it for mucormycosis patients whose facial bones have been removed. “The procedure normally happens in cases of a severe injury or gunshot wounds,” said a doctor.
With mucormycosis new to even doctors, it’s hoped that customized prosthetics may bring a ray of hope for a number of patients like Archana.
Dr Vipin Dehane from Kingsway Hospital who is treating Archana said that in her case not only the maxilla (upper jaw bone) but even the palate bone (part touches the tongue from upper side) was removed leaving a hollow above. “Given her age, getting face restored was the first priority,” he said.
He further said that a conventional teeth implant is fixed on the maxilla, which was removed in this case, leading to the need of creating new bones matching the original looks.
Archana said that it initially left a psychological impact on her. “I was married in January and in April I got admitted due to Covid. I also felt a severe jaw pain at that time. After going to the dentist first, it was finally confirmed that it was mucormycosis,” she said.
Able to speak clearly, she now puts a denture. “The face is not exactly the same. The disfigurement will go only after the permanent implant is put,” said Archana putting up a brave face.
According to Dr Dehane, another 25-year-old patient form Madhya Pradesh will also be undergoing the same procedure.
The procedure has been adopted for a number of other patients too.
Dr Raman Bonde from Amravati said that he has operated as many as 50 patients of mucormycosis infection. “Now, the restoration procedure would begin,” he said.
“Stereolithographic model is normally used for patients of severe injury or gun shots. It is expected to work on those operated for mucormycosis too. Only time will tell how successful the method has been in the long run,” he said.
Dr Rahul Atara, an endodontist who was part of the team, said that the method is not very popular but conventional implant was not working on the patient. “After a bit of study this was found to be suitable for mucormycosis patients. It’s an established procedure but not tried much here,” he said.
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