When Susannah Morgan learned that an operation to remove a benign tumour in her neck could leave her with a crooked smile, she was “frantic”. The 45-year-old was advised to have it removed in case it turned cancerous but she was warned the surgery would also leave her with a dent in her neck and possible paralysis. Desperate to avoid being permanently disfigured, she researched alternatives and discovered a new technique using a hologram which could save her smile. Last month, she became the first person to undergo the pioneering operation in Scotland.
She was initially told that, to remove the pleomorphic adenoma, surgeons would have to cut out her largest salivary gland, which contains the facial nerve. But the new hologram technique allows surgeons to pinpoint the exact location of the facial nerve, leaving less chance of it being severed. It also allows surgeons to open up the salivary gland, rather than remove it.
Susannah paid to have a hi-tech MRI scan in London, which produced a hologram. It was then used by Iain Nixon, the surgeon who performed the operation, in Livingston, West Lothian, last month. “Iain has saved my smile, I’m so thankful to him” Susannah told BBC Scotland News. “I feel on top of the world, I’m on a high and it’s giving me a real buzz.”
When she woke from surgery, Susannah’s smile was crooked – but medics explained this was temporary because the facial nerve had to be moved to get to the tumour. “I cried when I saw my squint smile straight after the surgery so to think it could have been permanent if Iain hadn’t used this pioneering technique doesn’t bear thinking about,” she said. “He had to lift the facial nerve, which is like a fine bit of spaghetti, to get to the tumour and because he had to man-handle it they say it gets bruised so that weakens it temporarily.”
The new hologram technique made it less likely the surgeon would have an accident. Susannah first went to the doctor at the end of November 2022 after finding a lump under her ear. However, the training doctor thought it was just a salivary stone and she was told to eat sour sweets to get the salivary juices going. But then it started growing and she could see it bulging out of her neck until it reached 3.5cm (1in) so she returned to the doctor a year later. “I was really shocked when I was told it was a tumour. I was relieved to hear it was benign but he told me if he didn’t get it out it could turn cancerous.”
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