Chennai hospital restores 8-yr-old girl’s ability to open mouth

An eight-year-old girl with an inability to open her mouth was successfully treated at a city-based private hospital recently. Doctors said within two days of surgery the girl regained her ability to open her mouth by almost 30 mm.

The patient visited Kauvery hospital with an inability to open her mouth, a problem she had been facing for the previous three to four years. The doctors thoroughly examined the child and inquired into the possible causes for this serious disability and discomfort.

“We speculated whether it was due to an injury from a fall that might have damaged the joint or a possible chronic ear infection. The parents confirmed that she did not have any major injuries but had a history of ear infections and that surgery was done for the same. It was after this surgery that she was unable to open her mouth,” said Dr Manikandan Ramanathan, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Kauvery Hospital.

It was a complicated procedure as it required the patient to open mouth to undergo the intubation required to maintain the anaesthetized state. The doctors opted for a procedure called Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy to intubate the child and put her under anaesthesia. So, they were able to perform the surgery where the bone was removed which restricted the opening of the mouth and placed a growing joint from the chest rib in the operated region.

“She can now open her mouth to facilitate normal speech and other functions like eating and chewing solid food,” said another doctor from Kauvery.