2023 Volume 27 Issue 1 Pages 75-82
The patient was an 85-year-old female who underwent mandible segmental resection of the right side, right-side neck dissection, and reconstruction with anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap and titanium plate to treat gingival carcinoma. The post-operative course was good, and she could take adequate general diets orally with the mandibular prosthesis we made. Eleven months later, plate infection occurred, so she underwent surgery to remove the plate. Because of high deviation of the mandible to the right side after removal of the plate, she could neither use the mandibular prosthesis nor chew, and was unable to take general diets.
Food residue was lodged in the space enclosed by the right buccal mucosa, ALT flap, tongue and remaining jaw. The food residue made her oral hygiene poor and she felt fatigue after each meal. We considered that the texture of her foods needed to be adjusted, but she wanted to keep eating those with the same texture. Therefore, we repaired the prosthesis with the aim of improving oral hygiene and reducing meal-related fatigue. As a result, food residue remaining in the space, oral hygiene and meal-related fatigue improved. Thus, we treated this case of dysphagia caused by high deviation of the mandible both morphologically and functionally.
