Doctors in Kitui county have conducted a successful eight-hour maxillofacial surgery to remove a 500g malignant growth that had damaged a patient’s left jaw.
Pendo Masonga, a 20-year-old Tanzanian, was languishing on the cold streets of Nairobi with her son strapped on her back as she battled a debilitating malignant growth that had disfigured her left jaw.
Masonga had no hope of raising funds to cater for her surgery that would cost Sh2.5 million as she sat on Nairobi streets begging for help.
But on July 10, the entourage of Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu stopped by and her journey to recovery started in earnest.
“On interacting with her, I found out that she had been living with this condition for a long time. She came to Kenya with the hope of meeting well-wishers to help her undergo a maxillofacial operation to remove the growth," Ngilu said.
The governor said that she was touched by her plight and offered to pay for her expenses to undergo the operation at Kitui County Referral Hospital, where four similar surgeries had been conducted successfully.
A team of 15 medical personnel at the hospital led by Cuban surgeon Arelis Rabelo Castillo spent eight hours last Wednesday to remove a malignant tumour that had damaged the Tanzanian woman's face.
Speaking at the hospital last Friday after reviewing Masonga’s progress, Castillo termed the complex surgery a success.
“The patient is recuperating in the general ward. However, she will require to undergo further reconstructive surgery to correct the defects occasioned by the growth,” the surgeon said.
Maxillofacial surgeons correct cleft palates, rebuild jaws, cheeks, noses, eye sockets, foreheads and treat diseases of the mouth.
“The surgeons also deal with non-surgical management of conditions such as facial pain, oral mucosal disease and infections,” she said.
Castillo said that a maxillofacial surgeon also helps in reconstructing the face of patients with fractured facial bones.
As the medic reviewed Masonga, her son Elisha played with another caregiver on a separate bed.
Rachael Mutiso offered to be baby Elisha’s nanny for the period she will be in hospital as she monitors the progress of her sick mother in the same ward.
“I chose to help Masonga with babysitting her son. I am here taking care of my sick mother. I found free time in my hands and Elisha is keeping me busy and redirecting my thoughts from my mother’s ailment," she said as she tossed the baby in the air playfully.
Edwin Rono, a consultant surgeon and lecturer said there was low public awareness on the role of maxillofacial surgeons and specialists, saying this impedes best treatment outcomes for patients seeking facial and cranial surgeries.
He said most patients present themselves very late, making their referral to specialists problematic.
“Many health professionals lack proper understanding on the wide scope of surgical procedures that oral, cranial and maxillofacial surgeons offer,” he said.
Edited by Henry Makori