Cambodian girl Sovanna Kak, who is estimated to be 15, will undergo surgery in Brisbane to remove a tumour on her jaw bone (seen in her x-ray inset).
Courtney Trenwith
Brisbane Times, Australia
March 28, 2011
A Cambodian teenager will undergo surgery in Brisbane tomorrow to remove a tumour that is eating away her jaw bone.
Sovanna Kak has suffered the painful growth for several years, although she only complained to a doctor a few months ago.
Sovanna, who does not know her date of birth but has been given an estimated age of 15, is from a rural community in Kandal province, about 30 kilometres from the capital Phnom Penh. She arrived in Brisbane on Saturday.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeon John Arvier, who will voluntarily perform the surgery at Wesley Hospital, said the benign tumour was destroying the right side of teenager's face.
"It's made an awful mess of the jaw from the corner of the jaw to just below the joint in front of the ear," Dr Arvier said.
"It's quite sore, she can talk all right and still eat fairly well but ... it's steadily chomping away at her.
"It's eaten away the inside of the jaw, pushing the jaw out, almost to the point where it's eaten the whole jaw bone."
The bone is so badly decomposed Sovanna risks breaking her jaw if she so much as bumps into someone.
Dr Arvier said Sovanna first presented to a doctor in her home town in rural Cambodia and was referred to a dentist, who then sent her to a dental hospital but the job was too complicated to be carried out in the former Khmer Rouge heartland.
A Cambodian doctor alerted the Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons who, with Rotary Oceanic Medical Aid for Children and Wesley Hospital, brought Sovanna to Australia.
The girl's mother and the Cambodian doctor are also in Brisbane, as well as a Cambodian student doctor who will learn the procedure with the hope of performing it in the developing country.
Dr Arvier said the tumour was not uncommon, including in Australia, but rarely progressed to such a debilitating point as Sovanna's condition had.
He said while the three-hour surgery was relatively straight forward, it would have a large impact on Sovanna's life and health.
A metal plate will be inserted to replace the bone that has been eaten away. If bone did not regrow, bone graft may have to be inserted, Dr Arvier said.
"She's very, very nervous," he said.
"[The tumour] was just bad luck. This is one of those things that can develop for no special reason."
Sovanna is expected to remain in Australia for several weeks and is staying with a Cambodian pastor.
Courtney Trenwith
Brisbane Times, Australia
March 28, 2011
A Cambodian teenager will undergo surgery in Brisbane tomorrow to remove a tumour that is eating away her jaw bone.
Sovanna Kak has suffered the painful growth for several years, although she only complained to a doctor a few months ago.
Sovanna, who does not know her date of birth but has been given an estimated age of 15, is from a rural community in Kandal province, about 30 kilometres from the capital Phnom Penh. She arrived in Brisbane on Saturday.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeon John Arvier, who will voluntarily perform the surgery at Wesley Hospital, said the benign tumour was destroying the right side of teenager's face.
"It's made an awful mess of the jaw from the corner of the jaw to just below the joint in front of the ear," Dr Arvier said.
"It's quite sore, she can talk all right and still eat fairly well but ... it's steadily chomping away at her.
"It's eaten away the inside of the jaw, pushing the jaw out, almost to the point where it's eaten the whole jaw bone."
The bone is so badly decomposed Sovanna risks breaking her jaw if she so much as bumps into someone.
Dr Arvier said Sovanna first presented to a doctor in her home town in rural Cambodia and was referred to a dentist, who then sent her to a dental hospital but the job was too complicated to be carried out in the former Khmer Rouge heartland.
A Cambodian doctor alerted the Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons who, with Rotary Oceanic Medical Aid for Children and Wesley Hospital, brought Sovanna to Australia.
The girl's mother and the Cambodian doctor are also in Brisbane, as well as a Cambodian student doctor who will learn the procedure with the hope of performing it in the developing country.
Dr Arvier said the tumour was not uncommon, including in Australia, but rarely progressed to such a debilitating point as Sovanna's condition had.
He said while the three-hour surgery was relatively straight forward, it would have a large impact on Sovanna's life and health.
A metal plate will be inserted to replace the bone that has been eaten away. If bone did not regrow, bone graft may have to be inserted, Dr Arvier said.
"She's very, very nervous," he said.
"[The tumour] was just bad luck. This is one of those things that can develop for no special reason."
Sovanna is expected to remain in Australia for several weeks and is staying with a Cambodian pastor.
1 comment:
Oh my...When I was eight or nine years old, I was crying like a kicked dog because of a cavity in one of my tooth.
To have a tumor that is eating away a jaw bone is what I can not comprehend the level of pain which Sovanna must have been endured for years.
I hope and pray for everything goes well with the surgery.
May God bless everyone who has helped this lovely young girl.
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