Indian boy has 232 teeth removed

"Surgeons in Mumbai have removed 232 teeth from the mouth of an Indian teenager in what they believe may be a world-record operation.

Ashik Gavai, 17, sought medical help for a swelling on the right side of his lower jaw and the case was referred to the city's JJ hospital, where they found he was suffering from a condition known as complex odontoma, said head of dentistry Sunanda Dhivare-Palwankar.

"We operated on Monday and it took us almost seven hours. We thought it may be a simple surgery but once we opened it there were multiple pearl-like teeth inside the jaw bone," she said.

After removing those they found a larger "marble-like" structure that they struggled to shift and eventually had to "chisel out" and remove in fragments.

Ashik's father, Suresh Gavai, said the family had been worried that the swelling was a malignant growth.

"I was worried that it may turn out to be cancer so I brought him to Mumbai," Gavai told the Mumbai Mirror newspaper.

Dhivare-Palwankar said the literature they had come across on the condition showed a maximum of 37 teeth being removed in such a procedure, whereas she and her team had counted more than 232 taken from Gavai's mouth.

"I think it could be a world record," she said.

Gavai's jawbone structure was maintained during the operation so it should heal without deformities, the surgeon added."

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/24/indian-boy-has-232-teeth-removed