Chennai doctor's skill makes kid speak again

CHENNAI: She didn’t have a voice, neither could she eat properly. Her massive tongue always hung outside her mouth, until last week. Now one year old Mia from Seychelles, Africa, has started saying ‘mama’ and eats properly, thanks to Dr S M Balaji of Balaji Dental and Craniofacial Hospital.

Mia was born with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, a rare growth regulation disorder caused by a genetic mutation in chromosome 11,  which gave her a huge tongue; since birth she could not close her mouth. Her mother had difficulty in feeding her and she was kept on a liquid diet. Though a curious child, she had not learnt to speak due to her massive tongue.

Dr Balaji, faciomaxillary surgeon and director of the hospital, said, “A child her age should have a tongue which is one and a half inches long, but Mia’s tongue is 5 inches long and so bulky that her mouth could not close. The challenging part was not to  cause any loss of function to the tongue and to keep  her taste buds intact.  We had to reduce not just the length but also the width of her tongue.”

They used a simpler, non-invasive nasal route for the anesthesia  using  a fiber optic bronchoscope. “ While trimming large amount of tongue muscle, we took care not to damage the huge blood vessels into the tongue. The sensitive nerves of the tongue  were also preserved  and also the taste buds. A week after surgery, the baby has started saying a few words and  is able to  sallow and  taste without difficulty,” said Dr Balaji.

The baby now has a little post-operative swelling;  once that heals the baby will be able to close her mouth completely. “The baby is recovering well, and  she is flying back to Seychelles tomorrow along with her parents. I  will be doing a follow up after six months.” Right now, Mia  has abnormal low sugars due to this syndrome, which will improve once she starts taking a proper diet. 

He added,“One in 15,000 is affected by this syndrome. In India, not much of attention is given to the condition, which can be corrected, and the kids can be given a chance to live normal life as far as possible.”