Young mum’s gratitude to the surgeons whose skills are helping her smile again

Rarely seen without a smile, Becky Kinmond continued to have a cheery outlook even when she was suffering from shooting pains in her head and neck for more than two years.

When a tumour in her cheek was found to be the cause, the mum was given the cruel diagnosis that she would need life-saving surgery and might never be able to smile again.

“I was distraught when I was told it had spread into my nerve, which they would have to remove, and I wouldn’t be able to smile,” the 36-year-old said. “I’m always smiling, so I thought the worst.

“I wondered if my son, Innes, would think differently of me and not look at me in the same way again. But if it meant I was going to live then I had to get it out.”

Complex surgery

Thanks to the work of the surgical team in an extremely complex 10-hour operation at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, Becky is not only cancer free, but her smile is returning too after a nerve was harvested from her leg to reanimate her face.

“As soon as I woke up from surgery, my fear was my face would have drooped, but the nurse said I looked amazing and everything was still in place,” she said. “It looked better than I thought it would, and as time has gone on, things have continued to improve.”

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Becky, from the Borders, had surgery in April last year to remove her right parotid gland, one of the glands that produces saliva in the cheek. Running through the gland is the facial nerve that enables us to smile and close our eyes.

Once consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon Ashley Hay removed the tumour, consultant plastic surgeon Patrick Addison relocated Becky’s leg nerve to her face.

Mr Addison explained: “We used a belt-and-braces approach to reconstructing her facial nerve. One was connecting her own facial nerve again, which sounds simple, but it’s a tall order. It’s like connecting the roots of a tree to its twigs and hoping the tree stays alive. That’s showing signs of working.

“The other one was to connect a different nerve altogether, the one that powers the chewing muscles, on to the facial nerve to smile, and that’s working separately as well, so she has really good recovery so far. We’re still early on in terms of recovery from this type of surgery, but there’s no sign of recurrence of tumours, she seems to be recovering well, and she’s in good spirits.”

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Becky, who has six-year-old Innes with partner Calum, added: “I take progress photos and there’s an early one of me trying to smile and there’s no movement at all on my right-hand side, but now I have slight movement.

“Mr Addison says I have to train my brain to smile again and because he’s attached the nerve to the bite muscle, it should move slightly when I bite. The more I practise, the more I can do it without biting, just clenching my jaw. People around me say it’s more symmetrical than it was.”

Becky’s tumour had grown into the skull base and up to the trunk of the facial nerve, meaning the bone had to be drilled out to gain access. That made it a complicated incision and the length of the facial nerve removed made reconstruction so much harder.

The nerves are a fraction of a millimetre in diameter and were stitched using thread thinner than a human hair.

TV feature

The surgery will feature in the new series of medical documentary show Surgeons: At the Edge of Life, which has been filmed in Scotland for the first time.

Becky, who has since undergone radiotherapy treatment, has had the unusual experience of watching herself being operated on. “I didn’t think I would want to,” she said. “But I wanted to see what they did, which was amazing.”

She agreed to be filmed for the series because she felt it was important to raise awareness.

“I had been misdiagnosed by my local doctors,” said Becky. “I was told I was too young, as this is usually found in over-50s. I want doctors to read up on it and be aware. When I chatted to Macmillan (Cancer Support), they didn’t know anyone my age who had gone through it, so if someone my age who is going through this watches the programme, it might give them reassurance.”

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The programme also shines a positive light on the under-fire NHS.

Mr Addison said: “All NHS staff want to do the best for patients, and to be treating them efficiently and as quickly as we can, but it’s undoubtedly a difficult time.

“These TV shows remind people of the good work being done every day in every hospital around the country. When the NHS does work, it works very well indeed.”

For Becky, she is adjusting to her new normal and is determined to live life to the fullest. And, most importantly, Innes treats his mum just the same as before.

“When he first saw me after surgery, he was wary and he told his dad I looked different, but Calum explained to him that I was still his mum,” she said. “Now, he’s not fazed. He’s not bothered in the least.”

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life, BBC Two, Wednesday, 9pm, and on BBC Scotland, Monday, March 3, 9pm, and the iPlayer