Poverty prevents appropriate medical care and a happier life

Three weeks ago a twenty year old male had his tumorous mandible/jaw removed by a visiting professor of surgery. The large defect, from angle to angle, was reconstructed by using the fibula bone from his lower leg. However, the grafted bone did not take and it will need to be removed. This good looking young man will no longer be handsome without a jaw. His tongue will fall back, causing life long eating difficulty. He cried when told the graft has to be removed. The original surgeon, who has returned to his university, believes a second attempt could only be successful if done where better facilities exist. We are urgently trying to arrange this, but finances and insurance policies make it a one in a million chance of happening. I have come to like and respect this young man and feel saddened for his future. This is the poverty I see daily.

Our patient at the finish of the removal of his tumorous mandible/jaw; unfortunately the fibula graft which was used for reconstruction did not take and needs to be removed.