A woman has undergone pioneering surgery to have a piece of her arm replace part of her tongue after undergoing treatment for cancer.
Rebecca Patterson, from Rushcliffe, was only recently engaged when she was diagnosed with tongue cancer in April 2018. She was suffering for eight years and had a sore spot on her tongue and a white patch in her mouth which never went away. Rebecca, a learning support assistant, was initially diagnosed with oral thrush but she was in so much pain she could barely speak or eat.
After the diagnosis, Rebecca underwent 11 and a half hours of surgery at the Queen’s Medical Cente in Nottingham. Surgeons removed the right side of her tongue and then took the skin and an artery from her left arm to build her a new tongue. The team of doctors also removed the right lymph nodes in her neck and two back teeth so the tongue would fit.
She is now recovering to her usual life with the help of a clinical Psychologist, Dr. Sanchia Biswas.
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