Since she was a child, Ms. T (73 years old, Thai Binh) was discovered to have deformed lumps in her neck, lips, and tongue, but due to her poor family, treatment was almost never considered. Over time, the disease developed in size and mainly affected appearance, so Ms. T accepted to live with them until adulthood. To facilitate her travel, Ms. T often uses a mask and towel to hide her unique features.
In the past few decades, deformed khoiuses have developed rapidly, increasingly large and unusually large. In particular, the tongue and lips under the chin are enlarged and heavily pulled down to the chin. She had to use a towel to support her lower lips and a towel to absorb the water that was always flowing from her mouth due to her unable to close it. This hospitalization was due to ulcers, bleeding in the mouth, difficulty eating, and pain.
Mrs. T shared that she was forced to get used to her disabilities and appearance: I still work the fields to make food for my mother and I. Wherever you go, use a towel to cover your lips. There is still food and drink but not much. At first, anyone who saw it was startled, but luckily, everyone gradually became acquainted, understood, and sympathized. There was a time when there were many ulcers, bleeding and pain, and food was inconvenient, so the family encouraged him to go to the hospital for check-ups and treatment.
During her days in the surgery room, although Ms. T was in pain and inconvenienced when she always had to use a paper towel to absorb the leaked blood and ice, she was always happy and optimistic. Everyone also loves her for her friendliness, seemingly erasing her strange appearance.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Thi Viet Dung - Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery, Bach Mai Hospital - in Ms. T's case, due to her old age, weakness, exhaustion, and many underlying diseases, the surgery required double-decker treatment, to remove most of the deformed part of the lower lip and tongue and then reconstruct the entire lower lip.
After the surgery, Ms. T was very happy because she no longer bleeding, her face was more normal; eating and communicating were much more convenient than before. She expressed her great gratitude and admiration for the doctors who helped her have a better, better life.
