Free fibular flap surgery

Hello everyone,

I am Jo-Marie Topkin, a single mother and primary school teacher from a small town in the Free State. In December 2021, I was diagnosed with ameloblastoma, a rare jaw tumor, after several tests were run. Exactly 13 days after my diagnosis, I had an emergency hemiresection, during which my lower right jaw was completely removed due to the damage caused by the tumor. Six months later, I underwent a bone graft where bone was harvested from my ribcage and hipbone to construct a new lower right jaw for me. A month later, I was hospitalized again because of an infection, staying in the hospital for 17 days. Even after my hospital stay, the infection did not clear up until 5 months later. Due to the infection, the bone graft that was done completely failed.

At this stage, I am only left with the left part of my lower jaw. This makes my teaching job very difficult because i...