Questions about mandibulectomy - 01-04-2018 05:58 PM
I was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 94. I was a minor at the time, so I don't have all the specifics. Due to the amount of radiation that I was to receive, I was informed at the time that I would never be able to have oral surgery. As a result, my wisdom teeth (all four) were removed. While I recovered from that surgery, I was on a cocktail of Cisplatin and a gold based chemo (the name of which eludes me at the moment).
After that treatment, I went through daily radiation therapy for 2-3 months. To be honest, I did not really pay attention to the amount of rads I received, and am not sure it is listed in records I have at home. Suffice it to say, I received enough that I was told to not get Xrays for the rest of my life. When I tell doctors this, they usually think I am crazy until they look at my charts. The look on their face when they see the number is unsettling.
I tried keeping up with my dental decay, but was told those issues would not be covered by insurance. My teeth came out of college mostly okay, but started to rapidly deteriorate shorty there after. As a young person new to the work force, I simply was not financially sound enough to keep up with it. It also took me a long time to find a dentist that had worked with cancer patients that had irradiated jaw bones. Most wanted to jump right in to root canals and extractions, even though I explained that couldn't happen. I did occasionally suffer from an abcess, but have not had that occur in over a decade.
Fast forward to today. I did eventually find a dentist that specializes in working with cancer survivors. He does a glue-on rather than post implants. His work is good, and his previousclients are happy. However, at this point I have a total of 6 partial teeth, so I would have to replace them all. The cost will be probably more than 45k when it is all said and done.
They only had other option that I thought I had was to wait until everything was gone and do dentures. That was what they suggested at San Francisco, but it seemed like they just assumed I had no resources to do anything else (and at the time, they were probably right for dental procedures). However, any dentist I have talked to that I liked (even the ones without cancer experience) were hesitant (up to the point of outright rejection) to go that route because of my age (shrinking of the lower jaw with full dentures).
So, I have been saving up to get started, but one issue is that the glue-on solution is temporary. 15 years at best. At my current age, that could mean transitioning to dentures, but it could also mean a repeating heavy expense every decade to a decade and a half. But in doing some research recently, I came across this mandibulectomy. It had never been mentioned. I don't think it was an option when I went through treatment. And since then, I have really only spoken to my GP and dentists. So I'm not sure if I never heard of it because I am not a candidate or because I was not talking with the right people.
I am not looking for a medical opinion from a forum post, but I wouldn't mind some insight. Does anybody see a reason that I would not be a candidate? If it is already off the table, no point in pursuing. Even if I had to do an upper denture, having something solid for the lower jaw would be nice. I always wondered what they would do if I broke my jaw, but the only answer I got during treatment was don't break your jaw.
If this is something I pursue, there are a couple other questions. Can it be covered by medical insurance? Ballpark on cost? Who would I even go see (central Cali). I see some places talking about it, but mostly talking about themselves doing it. They cannot possibly all be the premier specialists in the field.
Thanks.
After that treatment, I went through daily radiation therapy for 2-3 months. To be honest, I did not really pay attention to the amount of rads I received, and am not sure it is listed in records I have at home. Suffice it to say, I received enough that I was told to not get Xrays for the rest of my life. When I tell doctors this, they usually think I am crazy until they look at my charts. The look on their face when they see the number is unsettling.
I tried keeping up with my dental decay, but was told those issues would not be covered by insurance. My teeth came out of college mostly okay, but started to rapidly deteriorate shorty there after. As a young person new to the work force, I simply was not financially sound enough to keep up with it. It also took me a long time to find a dentist that had worked with cancer patients that had irradiated jaw bones. Most wanted to jump right in to root canals and extractions, even though I explained that couldn't happen. I did occasionally suffer from an abcess, but have not had that occur in over a decade.
Fast forward to today. I did eventually find a dentist that specializes in working with cancer survivors. He does a glue-on rather than post implants. His work is good, and his previousclients are happy. However, at this point I have a total of 6 partial teeth, so I would have to replace them all. The cost will be probably more than 45k when it is all said and done.
They only had other option that I thought I had was to wait until everything was gone and do dentures. That was what they suggested at San Francisco, but it seemed like they just assumed I had no resources to do anything else (and at the time, they were probably right for dental procedures). However, any dentist I have talked to that I liked (even the ones without cancer experience) were hesitant (up to the point of outright rejection) to go that route because of my age (shrinking of the lower jaw with full dentures).
So, I have been saving up to get started, but one issue is that the glue-on solution is temporary. 15 years at best. At my current age, that could mean transitioning to dentures, but it could also mean a repeating heavy expense every decade to a decade and a half. But in doing some research recently, I came across this mandibulectomy. It had never been mentioned. I don't think it was an option when I went through treatment. And since then, I have really only spoken to my GP and dentists. So I'm not sure if I never heard of it because I am not a candidate or because I was not talking with the right people.
I am not looking for a medical opinion from a forum post, but I wouldn't mind some insight. Does anybody see a reason that I would not be a candidate? If it is already off the table, no point in pursuing. Even if I had to do an upper denture, having something solid for the lower jaw would be nice. I always wondered what they would do if I broke my jaw, but the only answer I got during treatment was don't break your jaw.
If this is something I pursue, there are a couple other questions. Can it be covered by medical insurance? Ballpark on cost? Who would I even go see (central Cali). I see some places talking about it, but mostly talking about themselves doing it. They cannot possibly all be the premier specialists in the field.
Thanks.