Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 17: In a first, doctors at the Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag today successfully carried out a hemiglossectomy, the removal of one side of the tongue, on a male patient.
The surgery-which saw the Principal GMC, Dr Rukhsana Najeeb providing the anaesthesia expertise-also involved neck dissection and submental flap reconstruction on a 30-year-old male patient from Kishtwar suffering from tongue cancer.
As per officials, the patient, a tobacco chewer, presented with a tongue lesion. Later, imaging and biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma with nodal metastasis.
A CT scan performed by Dr. Mir Saiqa Shafi in the Department of Radiology delineated the full extent of the disease, GMC said.
Following comprehensive clearance from the Anaesthesia Department, the patient underwent a hemiglossectomy with neck dissection and reconstruction using a submental flap.
“This type of advanced cancer surgery with tongue reconstruction using a submental flap is the first of its kind in the new medical colleges,” GMC said.
Previously, doctors at the hospital said, such high-end surgeries were only performed at GMC Srinagar and SKIMS Soura.
The surgical procedure was a collaborative effort led by Dr. Aamir Yousuf and Professor Dr. Sajad Majid Qazi from the ENT Department, with invaluable support from Dr. Zaffar Malik, Dr. Shaista, Dr. Khalida, and Reyaz Ahmad from the anaesthesia team.
Given the complexity of the surgery, involving the vital airway tract, GMC said, anaesthesia expertise was provided by Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb, who is also a Professor of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care and the Principal of GMC Anantnag.
“Postoperatively, the patient is recovering well and is currently on RT feed.”
The department has expressed gratitude to Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb for her persistent encouragement and support, which was instrumental in facilitating such complex surgical interventions.
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