At 18, this girl ate her first morsel of food

Suffering from a rare deformity that fused her mouth to the skull, Priyanka Salunkhe couldn't speak or eat she had been on a liquid diet until last December

At 18, this girl ate her first morsel of food

Suffering from a rare deformity that fused her mouth to the skull, Priyanka Salunkhe couldn't speak or eat she had been on a liquid diet until last December

An expert cook at 18, ironically enough, Priyanka Salunkhe could never taste the culinary delights she prepared. In fact, she had been on a semi-liquid diet throughout her young existence.

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Last December, however, she got to taste dal chawal, a first for her.

And food wise, there are bound to be countless more, after surgeons at the BSES municipal hospital cured her with three sequential operations over the course of last year of a rare deformity that fused her mouth nearly shut at birth.

Priyanka was suffering from temporamandibular joint ankylosis, a medical condition in which the lower jaw is fused in the skull, disabling the person to open their mouth.

Doctors suspect that the condition must have been triggered after Priyanka fell prey to typhoid fever five days after she was born.

"I have never chewed food in my life. My mother gave me chapatis soaked in milk. I could not even insert them in my mouth. I pushed the semi-liquid food through my teeth.u00a0

But now I can eat everything, speak clearly.u00a0 All my friends and family are so happy, and I am happy to see them like this," said Priyanka fighting back tears.

Though Priyanka could not eat or speak properly her misshapen face a source of much torment even for social interactions she is studying in Standard XII, currently preparing for Board exams.

Her mother, Sanjana, beaming with pride and joy, said, "My daughter looks beautiful now. We moved to Mumbai from Satara to get her treated and we have.

Before, she would refuse to attend any social function because she looked different. But things are good again."

Daring task

Doctors said that Priyanka's case was particularly challenging because the deformity was severe. The girl had undergone six major operations in city hospitals before she even turned 17. But they failed to set aright the distortion.

Things changed when Priyanka was brought to the BSES municipal hospital last April.u00a0 She was 18 and weighed 18 kg. (Unable to consume solid food, those suffering from the disorder tend to be malnourished, doctors explained.)

After her first operation at BSES the same month, she gained eight kg. This was followed by two more operations in 2010, in September and December respectively.

"In the first operation, we removed the bone fusing the lower jaw with the skull. This liberated the jaw, allowing her to open her mouth freely.
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In the second surgery, for cosmetic purpose, we elongated the lower jaw by surgically inserting distractors, which added 1 mm to the jaw daily until it is the desired length.
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In the third operation, we inserted a plate in the chin area so it becomes normal," explained Dr Parit Ladani, oral maxillofacial plastic surgeon. He added that such operations are funded by a Switzerland-based organisation, Swiss Cleft Craniofacial Centre, which also sponsored Priyanka's treatment.

She only had to pay for the medical instruments distractors and plates. After two months of observation, doctors said that the operations have been successful.
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Priyanka has begun eating normally cooked food, and can hope to live a normal life from now. She is planning a trip to her village in Satara district, so that everyone who thought she would not survive can see her smile.

No Hope, Really?

Right after her birth, Priyanka contracted typhoid fever. The first doctor the Salunkhe family had consulted back in Satara had termed the five-day-old dead on the table.

The second doctor had asked the family to stop making efforts for her recovery and normalcy, and instead, look after their son. The family didn't give up, and instead moved to Mumbai, determined to get her treated.

Sanjana, her mother, said, "I am going to take a cutting of this news to my village to show those doctors that my child is alive and beautiful."

She added, without lifting her eyes from her daughter, "We want Priyanka to study further and help people in whatever way she can. We can never forget the huge favour the doctors have done us."