Maxillofacial team star in new episode of Surgeons

Last week, the nation was gripped by the first episode of the new series of Surgeons: at the Edge of Life on BBC Two, which followed two operations carried out at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
Tonight, the second episode will follow two more operations at QEHB, which are right on the forefront of what is possible in modern medicine.

The first operation is undertaken by Consultant Maxillofacial surgeon Tim Martin and his operating partner Sat Parmar. The patient, former police officer Loretta suffers from a rare disease, which was destroying the bones and muscles in one side of her face, causing her mouth to fuse shut.

The team arrive at a diagnosis of tumefactive fibroinflammatory disease, a rare disease with only 50 documented cases worldwide. Tim and Sat are the first UK surgeons to operate on this disease.

This is a vital operation, as Loretta is at risk of a fatal stroke. Tim’s only option is to remove the diseased area of Loretta’s face, and then conduct a facial reconstruction.

This procedure involves radical surgery to the entire left-hand side of Loretta’s face, and means that she will lose a section of her upper jaw, as well as facial muscles that have become tough and hard.

Removing the diseased area will help to save Loretta’s life but could leave her badly disfigured, and so the team set out to fill in the cavity left in her face with a section of bone and muscle removed from her hip.

QEHB has its own on-site maxillofacial prosthetics laboratory, where technicians have adapted the latest 3D design techniques to transform patient scans into bespoke 3D-printed cutting guides. This means that surgeons can cut out the correct amount of bone from the face, and also cut a graft from the hip bone which will slot into the hole in the face with total precision. This accuracy has transformed success rates for surgery, and achieves better cosmetic results for patients.

This incredible work has been made possible thanks to your donations. QEHB Charity is proud to support the work of the maxillofacial team, by funding 3D software and printers to enable the team to become one of the world-leading prosthetics labs.

Back in 2018, a grant from Wesleyan allowed QEHB Charity to purchase new software and equipment to enable the maxillofacial team to improve outcomes for even more patients across the hospital, not just in facial surgeries.

Watch a video explaining the new equipment here.

The Charity is proud to fund a Biomechanical Engineer post within the team, which has supplemented the existing digital expertise within the team and to make available the specialist service to other specialities within the Trust that could benefit from working with the maxillofacial team. Heather Goodrum took up this post in 2018 and has since been working hard to increase the number of patients who benefit from the incredible work of the maxillofacial team across the hospital.

Justine Davy, Head of Fundraising at QEHB Charity, said: “Once again we are all really looking forward to watching the next episode of Surgeons. It is a wonderful programme which demonstrates the incredible skill and dedication of our surgeons here at QEHB.

“QEHB Charity is proud to support the maxillofacial team in their work, and tonight’s programme is an incredible example of the impact that generous donations to the Charity can make.

“Thanks to your donations, the maxillofacial team has been able to purchase the equipment and software that allows them to carry out cutting-edge surgeries, and save and change lives for the better.”

You can catch up on last week’s episode of Surgeons, or find out more about the programme here.