A doctor from Newham, east London, has been fitted with what is believed to be the first bespoke artificial tongue made on the NHS. Imogen Brooks had most of her tongue removed and reconstructed at 26 due to head and neck cancer, with radiotherapy later affecting her speech.
Ms Brooks approached clinicians at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust after researching prosthetic tongues. Michael Brown, a dental technician at the hospital, stated that the team had not made such a device before.
The prosthetic consists of a metal frame that clips onto Ms Brooks' lower teeth, supporting a custom-made silicone tongue. Carolyn Doughty, a specialist speech and language therapist, collaborated with doctors and laboratory technicians to create the device, tailoring it to Ms Brooks' mouth and speech.
Ms Brooks noticed improvements in her speech within three days and adjusted to the prosthetic in about two weeks. She reported that people were more willing to listen and had less difficulty understanding her, also finding conversations with her hard-of-hearing grandmother easier.