cancer of the jaw bone.

small hole has developed on the out side of the chin, thick creamy fluid is leaking from it. has anyone heard of this?

Hello knt

It is most probably a fistula discharging from a dead tooth. Chronic dental periapical infections or dentoalveolar abscesses cause the most common intraoral and extraoral fistulas. Link: Oral Cutaneous Fistulas.

Please see your dentist. Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes
Vinod

hi thanks for the reply.

they removed the teeth. so thats not the problem. she has since spoken to the hospital and was told that it was to be expected, due to the aggressive growth in the jaw bone. will this hole heal up or will it just get bigger? what was the discharge that was leaking? does cancer of the jaw bone normally cause holes on the outer side of the chin? i would be grateful if you could get back to me with some information.

from having cancer on the tongue and in the lymph nodes which were removed during surgery. to being diagnosed with jaw cancer 6 weeks after radiotherapy had finished seems a cruel blow. it has since spread back to the tongue and up towards the ear. is this common for cancer to come back so soon after having treatment. i can't seem to find much information on this so any would be appreciated.

thanks

Hello knt

Your mother appears to have had a recurrence of her tongue cancer with involvement of the jaw bone. Cancer treatment can often leave the tissues in poor condition such that breakdown of the tissues occcurs causing:

(i)Fistula formation - breakdown of the wound may result in communication between the skin and the mouth cavity within the first 2 weeks often after feeding has recommenced. This is more common in patients who have had preoperative radiotherapy. Small fistula tracts heal within 6 weeks. A futher operation may be necessary to remove any dead or infected tissue and close the fistula using a skin graft

(ii)Flap failure - this is often associated with fistula formation and is due to problems with the blood supply to the flap. Occasionally the blood supply can be improved; if not a new flap will need to be used.

You need to speak to her surgeon about the best way to deal with it.

Best wishes
Vinod