Friday 25 July 2014

Teenager has 232 teeth removed in ‘world record’ operation

 An Indian teenager had 232 teeth removed in what surgeons believe may be a world record operation.

Ashik Gavai underwent a seven-hour surgery in Mumbai after complaining to his parents about a painful swelling in the right side of his lower jaw.

The 17-year-old, from a village in western India, initially noticed the problem 18 months ago, but the unusual case had left doctors near his home perplexed.

He has been diagnosed with a rare condition, identified by doctors as complex odontoma, which occurs when a single gum forms lots of teeth.

Sunanda Dhivare-Palwankar, head of dentistry at the city’s JJ Hospital, said it was an extremely complex operation.

“We operated on Monday and it took us almost seven hours,” she said.Continue...

“We thought it may be a simple surgery but once we opened it there were multiple pearl-like teeth inside the jaw bone.”

The medical team, comprised of two surgeons and two assistants, also found a larger “marble-like” structure, which they had to “chisel out” and remove in fragments.


Dr Dhivare-Palwankar said she had “not seen anything like it before in [her] 30-year career” and her department plan to get in touch with Guinness World Records about the case.

“It is known to affect the upper jaw and a maximum of 37 teeth have been extracted from the tumour in the past,” she told the Mumbai Mirror.

“But in Ashik's case, the tumour was found deep in the lower jaw and it had hundreds of teeth."

Mr Gavai’s family feared the swelling was a cancerous growth, but the teen’s jaw is expected to heal without any deformities.

The youngster, who has been left with 28 teeth, will need regular check-ups to ensure the tumour does not return.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Nonsoloaded's Offer: Comment and Win 1000 worth Airtime Recharge weekly. At the end of every week the reader with highest comment will be rewarded. Terms & Conditions apply