NEW DELHI: A 26-year-old man from Yemen received a fresh lease of life through a rare reconstructive surgery, performed by a team of Indian doctors. A few months back, the patient’s face and mouth was left completely disfigured after a mobile phone exploded while he held it between his teeth. Apart from severe disfigurment, the accident rendered him incapable to eat and speak properly.
The patient was admitted at KAS Medical Centre in the national capital where a team of facial reconstruction surgeons headed by Dr. Ajaya Kashyap performed a rare surgical procedure to give him his normal facial features back. As per the doctors, the blast was so strong that it burnt the inside of his mouth, tore up the muscles and the tongue leaving all the soft tissues damaged.
“As the blast happened inside the mouth, the injury was rather unusual. After much assessment, the team decided to use flaps of tissue from inside the mouth as well as fat tissues from his body and use it as a flap. Ensuring facial sensations was another challenge. We are happy that the procedure went well and the patient regained his normal features,” said Kashyap, Medical Director, KAS Medical Centre.
The muscles of the lips which had been split apart were repaired and flaps were used to close it. Autologous fat with stem cells and PRP were injected to restore volume and improve scarring.
“The surgery was done a week back and now he is ready to fly back to his own country,” added Kashyap.
Mobile phone blasts have lead to serious injuries in India. The most common reasons for a cell phone to explode are using it while the phone is being charged. Charging puts pressure on the device, using it during charging increases this pressure manifold. This causes cheap electronic components in some mobiles to explode.