• Ann O’Sullivan had a large part of her jaw, her left eye and some of her teeth removed after a large tumour was found spreading across her face
• Surgeons then used 3D technology to rebuild the left side of her face
• They electronically scanned the other side of her face to build a 3D profile
• They replicated the healthy side using bone from her leg to rebuild her jaw
• She is now having chemotherapy and radiotherapy

Surgeons have used ground-breaking 3D technology to help rebuild a patient’s face after she developed a life-threatening tumour behind her eye.

Ann O’Sullivan , 69, visited her GP about a sinus problem only to discover her headaches were actually caused by an aggressive tumour that had been spreading undetected across the left side of her face.

Maxillofacial surgeons at St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, South London, had to remove a large portion of her jaw, her left eye, and numerous teeth to get rid of the cancer.

Ann O'Sullivan had to have part of her jaw, her left eye and some of her teeth removed after doctors found a tumour spreading across her face. Image shows a 3D scan of her face

Once this procedure was complete, they began the painstaking work of reconstructing of her face using innovative computer technology to rebuild the damaged area.

The technology allowed the team to electronically scan the opposite side of her face to build a 3D profile that surgeons could then replicate.

Mrs O’Sullivan said: ‘I’ve always been healthy so it came as a shock when the doctor referred me to hospital where the scan revealed a tumour. The hardest thing to take was the loss of my left eye.

‘The surgeons told me it was just rotten luck but that I was lucky the tumour had been growing outwards rather than inwards.

‘My father died of cancer but I was told that many types of cancer were now curable as long as they are caught early enough.’

Mrs O'Sullivan said: ¿The hospital offered me a false eye but I don¿t want that. I¿m as fixed as I¿m going to be and that¿s good enough¿

Mrs O’Sullivan underwent a ten-hour operation at the hospital’s specialist maxillofacial unit which specialises in reconstructive surgery including facial trauma, deformity and head and neck cancer.

The operation involved surgeons taking a portion of bone from her leg to reconstruct her jaw, and a number of tissue grafts where arteries and veins had to be painstakingly re-connected using micro surgery.

A complication saw Mrs O’Sullivan return to surgery a day later for a further ten hour operation before surgeons were satisfied that blood was circulating properly to the affected area.

She said: ‘I can’t praise the staff enough. They kept me informed every step of the way and have been very caring and kind from the surgical team to the nurse who bought me a cup of tea in the small hours of the morning.

‘I put my faith in the hospital and they saved my life.’

Mrs O’Sullivan, who lives in Roehampton, says it took her a week before she had the courage to look at herself in the mirror.

‘I told myself it could have been worse and am now focused on getting on with my life. You have to be positive.

‘The hospital offered me a false eye but I don’t want that staring back at me every morning. I’m as fixed as I’m going to be and that’s good enough.’

Mrs O’Sullivan says her family have been a great source of support.

Mr Kavin Andi, one of two surgeons involved in the operation, said: ‘It’s always satisfying to see a procedure go well and return people to their home environment so they can get on with their lives.’

Mr Andi and Mr Graham Smith, who was supported in theatre by a team of more than ten clinicians and nurses, said the use of 3D imaging meant much of the preparatory work was carried out ‘virtually’ on a computer so he knew exactly what needed to be done before going into surgery.

He added: ‘We are lucky at St George’s because we are a world leader in this field of work. The 3D imaging means I can look at the tumour from different angles and take the necessary measurements including how and where bone is removed and re-sculpted.

‘I am particularly pleased because Ann was allowed to go home on the pre-agreed date, despite the extra operation.’

Mrs O’Sullivan is now undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden, in Sutton.