Chennai: The Department of Oral & Maxillofacial surgery Tamil Nadu Government Dental College has performed a rare lower jaw surgery — total replacement of lower jaw joint last month.
The rare surgery, a first of its kind at the Government Dental College, replacing the lower jaw joint was performed on three patients under the Amma Health Insurance Scheme. It was conducted by a team headed by professor B. Saravanan.
Joint reconstructions are quite a challenging procedure, said Dr B. Saravanan, principal & Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon.The state of the art facilities at the dental college allowed the team to perform this “challenging” surgical procedure free of cost. “These children who underwent surgery have had their joints replaced with indigenously made alloy prosthesis replacing total lower jaw joint. Patients are now able to open and close their jaw freely,” Dr Saravanan said.
Reconstruction of total lower jaw joint using indigenously made alloy prosthesis is difficult for the poor because of financial constraints. But now these cases can be carried out free of cost under the Amma Health Insurance Scheme, said Dr Saravanan. On an average, over 50 minor trauma cases and eight major cases are being operated upon every month, he said.
