Luton and Dunstable Hospital completes first total jaw replacement in East of England

Luton and Dunstable University Hospital has carried out a total jaw joint replacement operation, in a first for the East of England.

The hospital in Bedfordshire is one of only five in the country to offer the surgery. The procedure was carried out on 18-year-old Ivana from Essex who had an unusual tumour on her jaw joint. Consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeons Mr. Alan Parbhoo and Mr. Valmiki Sharma did the operation with the help of the maxillofacial theatre team at the Luton & Dunstable University Hospital.

Mr. Parbhoo said: “Ivana had an aggressive bone cyst of the jaw joint which was expanding, causing her cheek to swell, and she could only eat an extremely soft diet in the few months prior to surgery.

“We were extremely pleased to get the funding to carry out Ivana’s operation and that it went so well. She is making an excellent recovery.

Ivana, who lives in Essex, said: “I first noticed something wasn’t right in April of last year, and it got steadily worse and I had to be extremely careful what I ate. I was so keen to have the operation, and now I have got my life back, and am eating completely normally, which is brilliant.”

Her mother, Maria, said: “We were extremely worried and scared but Mr Parbhoo and his team were amazing and saved her life and we are so grateful.”

The operation is performed on patients who either have arthritis of the jaw – similar to a hip or knee replacement – or for patients with tumours of the jaw, or where the jaw joint needs to be removed.

Before becoming available at the L&D, patients in the East of England previously had to travel to Oxford or Nottingham for appointments and surgery.

Mr Parbhoo added: “Now that we have carried out our first case successfully I am hopeful that we will be given the funding to set up a full tertiary service at the L&D, enabling us to become the TMJ Centre for the East of England, and treat patients with all types of jaw joint pathology in the region.”