Active8 issue 206 April 2020

ACTIVE8
Why S8’s
Gillian
has so
much to
smile
about
Part of a bone from her leg
has enabled primary school
teacher Gillian Wood, right,
to tackle an aggressive
tumour discovered in her
jaw. Deborah Wain reports
A
LOCAL teacher is recovering after undergoing surgery
to create a new jaw from a bone in her leg.
Gillian Wood underwent the procedure after a rare tumour called
Ameloblastoma was discovered in her lower jawbone. Although
not cancerous, it was aggressive and affecting tissues in the
surrounding area.
During the intricate 13-hour operation at Sheffield’s Hallamshire
Hospital, surgeons removed part of Gillian’s jaw and used bone
taken from her fibula for reconstruction.
Four months on, Gillian is recovering well and looking forward to
being back with pupils at Greenhill Primary School once it
reopens. She said she wanted to tell her story to raise awareness
of the disease and recognise the treatment she has received.
Gillian, aged 46, lives in Woodseats, and has a husband, Rob, and
children Joe and Erin. She was first seen at the Charles Clifford
Dental Hospital last August for a suspected impacted wisdom
tooth with a possible cyst in her jaw.
Gillian explained: “I'd had earache, pain and tingling in my jaw
for a few months and had noticed a lump behind my molar. The
CT scan showed a mass in my jaw that had eaten away quite a lot
of jawbone. I had a biopsy and had to wait ten days to see if it
was cancer or not, which was as awful as it sounds
“Then I was told it was Ameloblastoma, thankfully benign but
locally aggressive and it was happily munching its way through
my jawbone, or right mandible, and soft tissue.”
Led by Mr Muzzammil Nusrath, three surgical teams,
specialising in head and neck, plastic surgery and dental work
were involved in Gillian’s operation - a fibula free flap jaw
resection.
The procedure involved taking bone from the fibula - the outer
and smaller of the two bones between the knee and the ankle -
along with an artery, vein and soft tissue. The bone was shaped to
match, as closely as possible, the piece of the jaw that was
removed.
Once this was complete, the artery and vein from the leg were
attached to an artery and vein in the head and neck area under a
microscope. The new jawbone was fixed in place with plates and
screws and covered with the soft tissue. Skin, soft tissue and
muscle from Gillian’s leg were also used to rebuild her gum and
parts of her mouth.
After the surgery, Gillian was taken to intensive care overnight
before being transferred to the ward.
Communicating
Due to swelling, she had both a breathing tube and nasal feeding
tube for ten days and during that time could not speak,
communicating only by writing notes.
Gillian said: “I was looked after by nurses, doctors, surgeons,
physiotherapists and speech therapists whilst in hospital and the
care I received was outstanding.
“Taking my first breath naturally after breathing through the
tube made me cry as it felt so good.
“I had to learn to swallow and eat with a mirror in front of me as
I wasn't quite sure where my mouth was and I dribbled a lot!
Nothing was too much trouble and everyone was so kind. I
thought I knew how hard nurses worked, but I had no idea!
“Everyone was just so fantastic and I made excellent progress.
Tomato soup was the first thing I tasted properly after being tube
fed and it was heaven!”
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