Surgery puts steak on menu

Rare procedure performed

CHLOE Ryan could barely wait to tuck into a steak after surgery, something the majority of the meat-eating population takes for granted.

Chloe was the recipient of ground breaking maxillofacial surgery at Toowoomba Hospital.

The procedure, which corrected Chloe’s severe underbite, is thought to be the first surgery of its kind performed outside a metropolitan area.

Oral maxillofacial surgeon Dr Duncan Campbell said Chloe’s upper jaw, lower jaw and chin were in an incorrect position and quite severely out of alignment, making everyday things like eating chewy food a daily problem.

“After years of orthodontic treatment, surgery was the only option to rectify it,” Dr Campbell said.

“So in consultation with orthodontist Dr Ashley Smith of Toowoomba Orthodontics we used a CT scan to get images of Chloe’s skull and facial bones, and we also used a laser scanner, rather than traditional dental impressions, to get images of Chloe’s teeth.”

Dr Campbell said the images were sent to a specialist medical software developer in Belgium, where the information was used to make 3D images, which were incorporated into the surgical plan.

“Then we did a phone hook-up with a technician in Belgium and between the three of us we used the plan to do a run-through of the surgery, and using soft tissue profiling we got a good idea of how the surgery would turn out, by being able to see the new position of the facial bones and also how the bite would end up,” he said.

“As far as I know for this was the first time in Queensland where this approach has been used outside of Brisbane, so we were very happy to be able to provide this type of surgery at Toowoomba Hospital.”

Chloe said there was a notable difference in how her jaw felt and she was pleased with the results.

“I’ve always loved to eat steak but anything that takes a bit of effort to chew has been a problem so the surgery has made a big difference,” she said.

❝After

years of orthodontic treatment, surgery was the only option to rectify it.

— Dr Duncan Campbell

PHOTOS: CONTRIBUTED BIG DIFFERENCE: Oral maxillofacial surgeon Dr Duncan Campbell with patient Chloe Ryan, who received ground breaking surgery at Toowoomba Hospital rarely performed outside of big cities. Before and after imagery of Chloe Ryan's surgery.