From the Policlinico in Bari to the Santobono in Naples to operate on a 10-year-old girl suffering from Ewing 's sarcoma.
Child with Ewing's Sarcoma Operated at Santobono
Chiara Copelli , who works with her team in the maxillofacial surgery unit of the Bari Polyclinic, has reached the Neapolitan hospital for reconstructive surgery.
A segment of fibula bone was removed , modelled and implanted to reconstruct a portion of the jaw that had been removed because it was attacked by the rare malignant tumor.
Traditional removal would have involved the removal of a portion of the jaw with consequences such as facial deformities, difficulty in eating and in articulating words.
Facial reconstruction surgery successful
"The reconstruction procedure ," Copelli explains, " involved taking a segment of bone from the fibula, shaping it to recreate the shape of the removed jaw, and then transplanting it to the area to be reconstructed. This final step is performed under a microscope and involves creating connections between the arteries and veins, each just a few millimeters in diameter."
The complex reconstructive oncological surgery intervention was possible thanks to the collaboration of the general and health management of the facilities involved to bring together the multidisciplinary team.
In addition to Professor Chiara Copelli , Marcello Zamparelli , director of the Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit at the Santobono Hospital in Naples , and Franco Ionna , director of the Head and Neck Surgery Unit at the Pascale Institute in Naples, also operated .
The post-operative course was regular and without complications. Thanks to the particular technique used, the little patient can achieve a complete recovery both from an aesthetic point of view (facial symmetry) and from a functional one (swallowing, phonation, ability to eat).
“The network of pediatric hospitals was fundamental in offering the opportunity for a complete recovery and correct development of the little patient who, without leaving her region, was able to benefit from an intervention of absolute excellence that only a few centers in Italy can perform ,” adds the general director of the Policlinico, Giovanni Migliore.
