Submucous Fibrosis

This disease affects only the skin of oral cavity and throat. The only cause of submucous fibrosis is betelnut and tobacco. This problem is very common in our area and we are practising various treatments to cure it since a decade. Broadly there are two types of treatment: medical and surgical. Medical treatment includes discontinuation of habit, supplement of antioxidant and B complex vitamins and mouth opening exercises.

Surgical treatment starts with removal of traumatic third molars which cause impingement of the fibrotic mucosa causing ulcerations, growth and sometimes even oral cancer. This gives a self-cleansing area and also helps in improving opening of the mouth.

Laser treatment aims at cutting fibrotic bands and forceful opening of the mouth under local or general anaesthesia. This is done with CO2 laser in our operation theatre which gives early recovery and less pain.

For those cases which do not respond to laser or any other therapy, we do flap surgery which is the last and the best way to improve mouth opening. This technique replaces thick and diseased fibrotic mucosa with adjacent alive skin of face. In this technique the chances of recurrence are very rare.

With this method we can achieve a normal range of mouth opening in patients who can’t open their mouths at all. Replacement of the diseased mucosa with new skin helps in reducing the chances of conversion to oral cancer as an added advantage. This technique causes no change in the looks as it doesn’t leave a scar on the face.

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