UK Doctor Receives First NHS Prosthetic Tongue After Cancer Treatment

Dr. Imogen Brooks, a 30-year-old scientist, is once again able to speak clearly after receiving the United Kingdom's first prosthetic tongue fitted within the National Health Service (NHS). The custom-made device has significantly improved her ability to communicate following cancer treatment that left her without most of her natural tongue.

Dr. Brooks was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a common form of head and neck cancer, at age 26. Surgeons removed a substantial portion of her tongue and reconstructed it using tissue from another part of her body. While she could initially speak reasonably well, subsequent radiotherapy caused the reconstructed tissue to shrink, leading to increasingly unintelligible speech.

The difficulty in communication caused distress, with Dr. Brooks noting that strangers would sometimes appear fearful when she spoke, and colleagues and friends began to avoid face-to-face interactions. The challenge impacted her professional life, medical appointments, and personal relationships, leading her to research potential solutions.

Upon approaching specialists at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, a team of eight experts convened to explore the feasibility of creating a prosthetic tongue. Michael Brown, a dental technician at the trust, described the project as a welcome challenge, as they had no prior experience with such a device.

After months of research, scans, and testing, the team developed two trial versions before finalizing the design with Dr. Brooks. The prosthetic features a U-shaped cobalt chrome frame that secures to her lower teeth. A silicone tongue, custom-molded to fit her mouth, attaches to this frame. Instead of independent movement, the prosthetic provides the necessary shape and bulk to bridge the gap left by the removed tissue, offering a surface against which she can articulate sounds more clearly.

Carolyn Doughty, a speech and language therapist involved in the project, believes this to be the first prosthetic tongue created within the NHS. Dr. Brooks observed improvements in her speech within three days of receiving the device.

She reported that the prosthetic has made a substantial positive impact, even assisting her in passing an oral examination for her doctorate. "What I really notice is how much more willing people are to listen to me, how much less difficulty they have understanding me, and when they have difficulties, how much more willing they are to ask me to repeat myself," she stated.

The prosthetic has also greatly aided her communication with her hard-of-hearing grandmother, a relationship previously strained by misunderstandings. Dr. Brooks expressed that relying on written notes and gestures was distressing, but now her grandmother can understand her with much greater ease.

Physically, Dr. Brooks finds speaking requires less effort, allowing her to speak for longer periods without pausing mid-sentence. The reduced cognitive load associated with speech has made her communication more fluid and less tiring.

Dr. Brooks recalled that her initial cancer symptoms were so subtle that she initially worried she was overreacting when she sought medical attention. Her diagnosis came as a significant shock, especially given that over 12,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancers in the UK annually. She is now cancer-free.

"I hope this inspires other medical professionals to collaborate with patients and work to improve quality of life in whatever form that may be," Dr. Brooks remarked.