Freed from locked jaw after 20 years
Dec 12, 2006
WHEN Bagesera turned up at Kisubi Hospital on July 20 2005 with a dental abscess, the Dental Surgeon Sister Mary Namukasa treated him in as a special case.
By Gladys Kalibbala
WHEN Bagesera turned up at Kisubi Hospital on July 20 2005 with a dental abscess, the Dental Surgeon Sister Mary Namukasa treated him in as a special case.
“Both jaws were swollen and he told me he could not open them up as they had got stuck together for over twenty years. This was a new experience for me. The only consolation was that he could at least talk,†she says.
Bagesera told her how painful it had been for the last two weeks he had stayed with the swelling and how he had endured a similar pain throughout the years. Namukasa sought advise from the hospital administrator Sister Anne Kizza
Bagesera had injured his jaws when he fell down from a tree when he was nine years old. After the accident, his chin was crushed and was never mended.
Dr. Namukasa said he developed a condition of ‘Temporo-mandibular joint dislocation’ causing locked jaw. This condition may arise from various factors, some due to trauma and others to some form of infection.
In her work, she has met temporary jaw locks which would require massage of the jaw joints and antibiotics.
“These cases have been mainly as a result of yawning without control, common in old-aged people. Oral infections can bring about problems of a temporary jaw lock†she added.
The first Ugandan dentist, Musa Ssettimba, said, “Such a condition is too complicated for me, it requires Oral surgeons. Ever since I started working in the dental department, I have been attending to simple cases of ordinary jaw joint dislocations mainly due to infections or yawning and I would treat it by reduction,†he explained.
On January 16, 1996, Bagesera got an operation at Mulago to rectify his problem but it never succeeded. More than five doctors carried out the operation. Bagesera continued to suffer from swollen jaws often.
A dispenser at Kawuku Trading Centre, Pelagia Namaganda Kemigisha worked on him on many occasions. On July 16, 2005, she sent him to Entebbe Hospital.
The doctors there referred him to Mulago Hospital but he went to Kisubi Hospital on July 20 and met the dental surgeon.
He finally had a major operation on April 10, 2006 at Mantova Hospital in Italy.
“I felt on top of the world when I recovered consciousness after four hours and found that I could open my mouth! I thanked God because I had almost given up any hope of recovering.
He was later fed by a tube for three days. On September 19, he got a second operation in the same hospital for chin elevation and was transferred to Ancona University Hospital for Dental Rehabilitation on October 7.
“Thirteen of my teeth were found in very bad shape with holes and were permanently cemented,†he explained.
The dental operation was done by Dr. Zavaria the in-charge of Ancona University Hospital. He returned to Uganda on November 13 fully recovered.
WHEN Bagesera turned up at Kisubi Hospital on July 20 2005 with a dental abscess, the Dental Surgeon Sister Mary Namukasa treated him in as a special case.
“Both jaws were swollen and he told me he could not open them up as they had got stuck together for over twenty years. This was a new experience for me. The only consolation was that he could at least talk,†she says.
Bagesera told her how painful it had been for the last two weeks he had stayed with the swelling and how he had endured a similar pain throughout the years. Namukasa sought advise from the hospital administrator Sister Anne Kizza
Bagesera had injured his jaws when he fell down from a tree when he was nine years old. After the accident, his chin was crushed and was never mended.
Dr. Namukasa said he developed a condition of ‘Temporo-mandibular joint dislocation’ causing locked jaw. This condition may arise from various factors, some due to trauma and others to some form of infection.
In her work, she has met temporary jaw locks which would require massage of the jaw joints and antibiotics.
“These cases have been mainly as a result of yawning without control, common in old-aged people. Oral infections can bring about problems of a temporary jaw lock†she added.
The first Ugandan dentist, Musa Ssettimba, said, “Such a condition is too complicated for me, it requires Oral surgeons. Ever since I started working in the dental department, I have been attending to simple cases of ordinary jaw joint dislocations mainly due to infections or yawning and I would treat it by reduction,†he explained.
On January 16, 1996, Bagesera got an operation at Mulago to rectify his problem but it never succeeded. More than five doctors carried out the operation. Bagesera continued to suffer from swollen jaws often.
A dispenser at Kawuku Trading Centre, Pelagia Namaganda Kemigisha worked on him on many occasions. On July 16, 2005, she sent him to Entebbe Hospital.
The doctors there referred him to Mulago Hospital but he went to Kisubi Hospital on July 20 and met the dental surgeon.
He finally had a major operation on April 10, 2006 at Mantova Hospital in Italy.
“I felt on top of the world when I recovered consciousness after four hours and found that I could open my mouth! I thanked God because I had almost given up any hope of recovering.
He was later fed by a tube for three days. On September 19, he got a second operation in the same hospital for chin elevation and was transferred to Ancona University Hospital for Dental Rehabilitation on October 7.
“Thirteen of my teeth were found in very bad shape with holes and were permanently cemented,†he explained.
The dental operation was done by Dr. Zavaria the in-charge of Ancona University Hospital. He returned to Uganda on November 13 fully recovered.