Jaw cancer is a common form of head and neck cancer that typically arises when an oral cancer extends to the jaw. Jaw cancer typically emerges when an oral cancer extends to either the mandible (lower jaw) or the maxilla (upper jaw). Sometimes cancer arises from skin covering jaw bone and involve jaw.
Other rare cancers like sarcomas and ameloblatic carcinoma also arise in jaw bone.
Jaw cancer is frequently categorized under the broader umbrella of head and neck cancers, leading to shared risk factors. The primary risk factors encompass:
As jaw cancer frequently originates from oral cancer, initial symptoms may comprise:
As the cancer extends into the jaw, symptoms may intensify and become more conspicuous, including:
To detect jaw cancer, medical professionals follow these steps:
– X-rays
– Ultrasound
– MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
– CT scan (Computed Tomography)
– Bone scan
Treatment for jaw cancer depends on cancer stage, potential side effects, and overall health. Key treatments for oral cavity cancer, including jaw cancer, include:
Surgery is main treatment option called Composite resection followed by post operative radiotheraphy
Here only a margin of mandible is resected maintaining the continuity of jawbone so that shape and function (chewing , speech) are preserved. The resected area is generally covered with flap.
This type of surgery is done in cases with cancer touching jaw bone or early involvement of jaw bone.
Here bone is involved by tumor, so full thickness segment of jawbone is removed to clear tumor.
This causes significant morbidity to functions like chewing , speech, swallowing and change in external appearance.
To reduce this morbidity during cancer surgery reconstruction can be done using bone or soft tissue flaps after resection of cancer. Bone can be replaced with bone using leg bone call Fibula free flap.This restores continuity of bone , so all functions are preserved and enhances external appearance.
Resected jaw bone with cancer
This defect will be reconstructed with fibula free flap.
Fibula bone in leg will be shaped according to removed jawbone and fixed to jawbone
Fibula bone in leg will be shaped according to removed jawbone and fixed to jaw bone. Skin of leg harvested along with bone will cover the defect in the mouth. Blood vessels of bone are connected to neck vessels for new blood supply.
After bone flap usage for reconstruction shape of face is restored ,occlusion of teeth is maintained so chewing hard food is possible and speech and swallowing are not affected.
CASE 11
Cancer of jaw bone , underwent composite resection and reconstruction with fibula free flap
Oral cancer involving mandible (jaw bone)is a common scenario. This requires multimodality treatment and team approach for both resection and reconstruction to cure the patient from disease and also to restore form and function so patients quality of life is not affected.
Contact us, DR Rahul buggaveeti and his team Dr Umanath Nayak , Dr Abhishek Bhudarapu , the best head and neck surgeon team in south India for superior oncological results.
It is around 1 lakh - 4 lakhs, sometimes vary on seriousness of the cancer
By avoiding tobacco and alcohol are the best ways to prevent Jaw Bone Cancer
3 weeks is the recovery period for Jaw Bone cancer treatment but again it depends on the condition of the patient
Dr Rahul Buggaveeti is the best Jaw Bone Cancer doctor in Hyderabad
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