An Aberdeenshire mother has had her jaw rebuilt after suffering from an extremely rare condition caused by a childhood accident.
Alana Brownie, 39, from Sauchen, is one of only a handful of people throughout the country who grew up suffering from idiopathic condylar resorption.
The condition almost exclusively affects girls and women, which stops the lower jaw from growing and maturing, causing issues with eating, sleeping and breathing.
It is mainly caused by arthritis or a serious jaw trauma in childhood, which is what happened Mrs Brownie.
Her issues began at 10 when she had an accident on her bike and some facial injuries were not as well understood, and it is suspected that she may have had injury to her jaw joints without being noticed.
It was only when she hit 12 and began growing more, her mum noticed something was not right and it has taken until now for it to be fixed.
Mr Moorthy Halsnad, Consultant Maxillofacial and Craniofacial Surgeon at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, performed a 13-hour operation to fix it.
Alana said: “After 25 years of not knowing who I was meant to be, I can now I look in the mirror and I’m beginning to get used to the person looking back at me.
“Moorthy and his surgical team had the courage to see the potential in me. Using his skills and knowledge, he stripped me back and built me up again from scratch.
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“How can I ever repay him for that?”
“I thought it was mumps at first,” said mum Patty Brownie. “But after going to the orthodontist, and then to a specialist, we found out. Her lower jaw wasn’t growing. The accident had damaged the growing plate, and her jaw was stuck in the size and shape of a child’s.”
The older she got, Alan was in constant pain and unable to sleep properly and admits she struggled with who she was.
Mr Halsnad is the only surgeon in Scotland capable of the complex surgery required with many others discouraging Alana from having the surgery.
He said: “In the United Kingdom, very few surgeons are willing to take on the complex surgery required to sort problems like Alana’s presentation.
“In Alana’s case, we needed to fit double artificial jaw joints. That’s the foundation on which rest of her upper and lower jaw bones rest.
“Because of previous operations it was a long and difficult surgery to remove all the metal fixtures that were mostly buried inside her facial bones.
“Once that was complete we carried out her double jaw repositions, then finally we revised her chin bone position giving her a more normal adult profile.
“After the surgery, Alana recovered well and was discharged home just 36 hours after her operation. This is testament to the fantastic teamwork of anaesthetics, theatre and ward staff who I have the privilege of working with at QEUH.
“I am feeling confident that Alana can now look in the mirror and see who she was meant to be.”
She said: “It affected my self-esteem, and it took its toll on my relationships.
“When you’ve gone through decades of not knowing what you’re meant to look like, when you can’t breathe at night and you’re struggling physically a lot.
“When you’re constantly hiding behind long hair, avoiding mirrors and standing at the back for photos. It takes a toll.
“Don’t get me wrong – this has been one hell of a rollercoaster. I always thought of myself as a tough cookie, and with my previous surgeries I thought I knew what I was in for. But this has been extremely hard – physically and mentally.
“The pain has gone now and, while I’m still having some issues, I’m feeling more like myself.
“I’m still on a soft food diet, and I’ve been dreaming of a big juicy steak or a burger, but there are no words I can physically say or write to thank Moorthy and his team for fixing me – something I can never repay him for and I truly thank him from the bottom of my heart.”
