Archana Mukherjee, a schoolteacher, had her jaws removed after she was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth. Her disease no longer torments her, but she is contemplating voluntary retirement, as she finds it impossible to communicate with students and colleagues.

But Rudrajit Lahiry, who had most of his tongue removed after a malignancy was detected, has no such problems. He has got back his tongue and is leading a normal life, thanks to micro-vascular reconstruction (MVR) surgery.

With this state-of-the-art reconstruction surgery coming to Calcutta in a big way, Lahiry and several others, suffering from oral cancer and other trauma-related disfigurement, have been all but given a fresh lease of life in just two to three weeks.

“Earlier, MVR was not so prevalent in Calcutta but it is now fast becoming a regular feature,” said Anupam Golash, plastic surgeon with Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI). “Although any amputated part of the body can be reconstructed, the procedure is most useful for oral and breast cancer,” added Golash.

Earlier, lack of infrastructure was a major impediment in performing MVR here, doctors said. “Since these surgeries are of long duration, usually six to 12 hours, state-of- the art operation theatres with all kinds of monitoring devices and ICU back-up are required,” said Golash.

Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, SSKM Hospital, CMRI, Westbank Hospital and Suraksha are among the major MVR surgery centres. The cost, doctors said, varied from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.

In oral cancer, said microvascular surgeon Sheikh Saidul Islam, the oral cavity and lymph nodes of the neck are removed together. The general practice involves amputation of a particular part and its reconstruction, with portions scraped off the neck, forehand or chest wall. “The disfigurement cannot be cured, but MVR is a single-stage procedure and the amputated tongue or part of the face is almost totally reconstructed,” he added.

Goutam Mukhopadhyay, surgical oncologist, said MVR “gives good-quality tissue, better cosmetic result and can be used where routine reconstructive procedures are found wanting”, but should be carried out only at institutes having the required infrastructure.