The old man's tongue blistered and he delayed for 2 months to find out that he had tongue cancer and had half of his tongue removed

The ulcer at the root of the tongue lasted for two months, and it turned out to be tongue cancer. 68-year-old Master Wei (pseudonym) had to have half of his tongue removed. Yesterday morning, the doctor skillfully "removed the arm to fill the tongue", and after recovery, he will hopefully regain his speech, swallowing and chewing functions, but the only regret is that he has no taste buds and partial sense of touch.

According to statistics, the incidence of tongue cancer ranks first among oral tumors.

Blisters on the tongue

Being treated as "getting angry" and delayed for two months

More than two months ago, Master Wei found an ulcer at the root of his tongue. Although he felt a little uncomfortable when swallowing, he didn't pay much attention to it because the ulcer was not big and did not affect his speech. Master Wei just thought it was a blister caused by internal heat, and drank some honeysuckle dew every day in the hope of reducing internal heat as soon as possible. But two months later, the ulcer not only did not disappear, but it grew bigger and bigger, and a large area had grown at the root of the tongue and pharynx.

In the past few days, Daddy Wei has been experiencing severe pain at the back of his tongue, and eating has become difficult. He couldn't stand it any more, so he went to the Stomatology Department of Wuhan Central Hospital the day before yesterday.

After being diagnosed by Cheng Zhigang, the director of the Department of Stomatology, Master Wei was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the root of the tongue and pharynx, and he had to undergo surgery immediately. When Master Wei heard that he had to undergo surgery to remove the lesions in his tongue, he was very scared. Director Cheng told him not to worry, saying that a complete new tongue could be repaired to restore some of its functions.

Take a 7 cm piece of arm meat

Repair the damaged tongue

Yesterday morning, Director Cheng performed a "tongue-making" operation on Master Wei. During the operation, Cheng Zhigang first removed the cancerous lesions and cleared the lymph nodes in the neck.

Next, Director Liu Hao of the Orthopedics Department removed a 7-cm-long skin flap (formed by skin with blood supply and its attached subcutaneous fat tissue) from Master Wei's left forearm based on the size of the cancerous tongue tissue to be removed, and under a microscope, he anastomosed the blood vessels of the skin flap with the arteries and veins of Master Wei's tongue and neck.

The difficulty of this operation lies in the survival of the new tongue after reconstruction. Postoperative infection, spasm, and thrombosis will affect the survival of the flap, requiring doctors to be very careful when anastomosing the flap during surgery. There are three main blood vessels connected, each of which is a few millimeters in diameter and requires 8 stitches, a total of more than 20 stitches. Once a small mistake occurs, the flap may not survive if it fails to anastomose.

After an 8-hour operation, Master Wei's tongue was finally reattached. The entire tongue looks similar to the skin on the body surface, and gradually becomes rosy after blood flow is smooth. Cheng Zhigang said that because the lingual nerve on one side of the patient was damaged, the taste function of the reconstructed tongue could not be restored, and the tactile function could only be restored to a small extent. The motor function needs to be driven by the remaining tongue root, but it can help Master Wei restore his speech, swallowing, and chewing functions. Of course, the patient needs to perform functional recovery exercises after the operation.

Tongue ulcer for two weeks

It is best to seek professional medical treatment

Since the 1980s, the incidence of tongue cancer has been gradually increasing. In the past, the highest incidence of oral cancers were gum cancer and cheek cancer, but now tongue cancer ranks first. Because tongue cancer is not hidden in the body like stomach cancer, it is generally discovered in a timely manner. The cure rate can reach 80%-90% if discovered early, and the overall cure rate is 63%-67%.

Cheng Zhigang reminded that smoking, chewing betel nuts, poor oral hygiene, and adverse stimulation are all factors that induce tongue cancer. Adverse stimulation includes stimulation from remaining tooth roots, improperly worn dentures, and eating too hot or spicy food. Rotten tooth tips can easily damage the tongue mucosa, and repeated damage that does not heal for a long time can also lead to lesions. If there is an ulcer or foreign body on the tongue, and it is not painful or itchy, you should pay special attention. Generally, if it does not heal after more than two weeks, it is best to seek treatment from a professional doctor.