“I spent a lot of time on my own – and some time with the guidance of a speech therapist – looking for suitable methods, but what I noticed was that people actually looked at me with fear when I spoke to them for the first time.”
A cancer survivor expressed her overwhelming joy after being provided with what is believed to be the first artificial tongue specially designed for her in Britain’s National Health Service, according to reports. British newspaper “The Independent”. Dr. Imogen Brooks, an assistant medical writer who lives in the Newham area of East London, was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma when she was 26 years old, which led to most of her tongue being surgically removed three years ago.
Details of the therapeutic intervention and tongue reconstruction
Although her speech was good after reconstructive surgery, subsequent radiation therapy caused tissue shrinkage, forcing her to rely on speech-assisting technologies to make phone calls. To help her regain clear speech, experts at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital (Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust) Months to develop a prosthetic device specifically for her.
Caroline Doughty, a leading speech-language pathologist, assembled a multidisciplinary team of restorative dentistry experts. After months of research and scanning, the team fabricated two prototype tongues. The U-shaped frame, made of a cobalt-chromium alloy, is clipped to the lower teeth and includes a custom-designed silicone tongue prosthesis to accommodate her condition and enable her to produce a wide range of sounds.
Results and impact on her life
It took Dr. Brooks about two weeks to adjust to the prosthetic limb, although she noticed an improvement in her speech after just three days, enabling her to pass her oral PhD exam at King’s College London. After presenting the results at conferences in the UK, Ms. Doughty believes this is the first time a prosthetic limb of this type has been manufactured within the British National Health Service.
Keep reading