RIMS doctors reconstruct tongue with forearm flap
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 19 2025: In a remarkable feat of medical expertise and compassion, doctors a.t the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal, have successfully performed a complex and life-altering surgery on a 46-year-old woman from Imphal West district, who was diagnosed with advanced oral tongue cancer, said a press release from RIMS.

According to the release, Ibem Pishak (name changed for confidentiality) , hailing from a modest background, had initially relied on traditional remedies to manage her illness.

As her condition deteriorated, she was referred to RIMS Hospital, where specialists from the Department of Plastic Surgery took over her treatment.

The patient was diagnosed with a malignant tumour on the left side other oral tongue, which had already infiltrated the floor of her mouth.

On July 11, 2025, a marathon eight-hour surgery was conducted by a multidisciplinary team led by Prof Akoijam Ibohal Singh, head of the Department of Plastic Surgery, along with Prof Ningthoujam Anita Devi, Dr Kalpana Thongram, and a team of anaesthetists.

The cancerous segment of the tongue was removed by ENT specialists Dr Pushpakishore Maibam and Dr Kalpana Thongam, along with the affected lymph nodes in the neck.

The surgical team then undertook a meticulous microvascular reconstructive procedure using a free radial artery forearm flap - a tissue graft taken from the patient's left forearm, shaped to mimic the tongue, and sutured into the oral cavity.

The flap's blood vessels were connected to those in the neck using ultra-line sutures through microvascular anastomosis, restoring function to the reconstructed tongue, RIMS said.

Post-operation, the patient was monitored intensively in the Trauma ICU before being transferred to the Plastic Surgery ward.

Just eight days after the procedure, she has begun oral intake and is recovering well, it added.

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