silicone

Bioscientists help throat cancer patients speak again

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: staff, provided by the University of Kent Voice Prosthesis Biofilm. Credit: Dr Campbell W. Gourlay, University of Kent Through the work of the School of Biosciences team, in collaboration with East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, Kent has developed a new method of care for patients who have to have their larynx removed. The Biosciences team found that the replacement voice boxes would last much longer if they dealt with the fungal infection Candida albicans that was causing the silicone versions to fail. For the first time, scientists were able to extend the life of the replacement voicebox by dealing with the fungal infection. The team has developed clinical care for patients that has now been taken up by many NHS Trusts in the UK and which is anticipated could be used worldwide for throat cancer patients. It means patients may be able to carry on using silicone voice prosthesis for much longer, enabling them to still speak and reducing the risk of dangerous secondary chest infections. Dr Campbell Gourlay, Senior Lecturer in Cell Biology at Kent, said the University's work, funded by the NHS and Kent Cancer Trust, will enable people who lose their larynx to maintain speech and enjoy a better quality of life.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-12-01T14:49:14-07:00December, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Prosthetics advancements giving some patients a new look on life

Source: www.wmbfnews.com Author: staff Doctors call it a cancer you cannot hide -- head and neck cancer. South Carolina has one of the highest rates in the country, claiming ears, eyes, noses, and other parts of the face. What is cut away for the patient's life to be saved, often has horrific consequences, but a team at the Medical University of South Carolina is using science, art and medicine to help patients literally put a new face on their disease. Gary Reeves is a patient who has found new confidence with his prosthetic ear. The Conway minister shows no embarrassment when he pulls off his silicone prosthetic ear. It's part of his daily routine. His prosthesis was custom made for him at MUSC. Reeves was born without a right ear, although most often, ear patients come to the MUSC clinic following cancer. "It's silicone," said Reeves. His prosthesis was custom made for him at MUSC. He is willing to tell his story, to help the many people who suffer injuries to the face, or cancer. "I think head and neck cancer is the most devastating form of cancer," says Dr. Betsy K. Davis, "because it's the one form you cannot hide from society." Davis is the director of the Maxillofacial Prosthodontic Clinic at the Medical University of South Carolina. In fact, cancer brought Dawn Wright to the clinic. The woman from Pawley's Island lost her right eye to ocular melanoma in February of 2009. That meant she had to wear [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-05-09T10:06:57-07:00May, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Best face forward

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: Lacey Meyer When 16th-century astronomer Tycho Brahe lost part of his nose in a duel, his options for a prosthesis were limited — he donned a folded metal plate in the shape of a nose to cover his missing anatomy. Today, patients with head and neck cancer, who may lose bone, skin, teeth or cartilage as a result of cancer surgery, find that the focus is not only on cancer control, but also on facial restoration with specialists who see the process as not only functional but also aesthetic. For past patients, the evolved approach to treatment with a multidisciplinary team of specialists, each concentrating on a certain area within the full scope of maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation, can be life-changing. Joseph Huryn, DDS, says he has patients who were recluses for years, unaware of facial prostheses as a possibility. “It changes their life incredibly,” says Huryn, chief of dental service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Depending on head and neck cancer location, size and treatment, maxillofacial prostheses can be intra-oral (within the mouth) or extra-oral (outside of the mouth). Maxillofacial prosthodontists can fabricate prostheses ranging from a resection appliance — used to replace part of the lower jaw — to an auricular (ear) prosthesis or an orbital prosthesis replacing the eye and surrounding tissues including the eyelid, socket and sometimes part of the cheek and nose. Professionals in anaplastology — the art and science of creating artificial anatomy — specialize in the fabrication [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-24T09:12:26-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|