DOCTORS have shared a man’s incredible transformation after his face was ravaged by a flesh-eating bug.
Terry had recently suffered from a tooth infection, which, within days, morphed into a disease which ate away at his face, making his eye bulge.
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He was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where doctors were in a race against time to remove the potentially fatal infection from the dad’s face.
“Tooth infections can be really dangerous because if it spreads into the eye socket, he could lose his vision”, said maxillofacial surgeon Shadi Basyuni.
“In addition, he could be left with significant disfigurement”.
Moments before the operation, eye surgeon Cornelius Rene stressed the situation’s urgency.
“If we left this any longer, he could rapidly go into multi-organ failure so his lungs could pack up, his kidneys could pack up, and this actually has quite a high mortality rate,” he explained.
During the op, Shadi can be seen removing pus from Tony’s face to relieve the strain on Terry’s bulging eye.
“The priority here is not aesthetics I’m afraid, it’s trying to get as much of this infection out,” he said.
“If it spreads into his bloodstream, he could get more generally unwell, and we call that sepsis, which can be life-threatening.”
As the surgery is finished, the team can be seen deliberately leaving the wound open so “remaining infection can work its way out”, documented in a brand new series called The Face Doctors.
Airing on Really on Wednesdays and available on Discovery+, it follows patients undergoing life-changing surgery and cutting-edge treatment to rebuild their faces.
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The second episode documenting Tony’s transformation airs tonight (May 22) at 9pm.
Before appearing on the show, Terry had a tooth removed by his local dentist after he developed a persistent abscess on his gum.
But his gum and face began to swell in the days that followed.
On returning to a dentist some days later, he was referred straight to A&E for further tests, which would reveal a life-threatening disease was eating away at Tony’s face.
Eight weeks after the op, the show caught up with Tony, who appeared to have made a remarkable recovery.
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“It was a lot more serious than I thought, makes you realise I’m lucky. I am lucky to still be here, really. All for a toothache!” he said.
“You don’t realise how lucky you are, going through life normally until something like this happens, which makes you appreciate what you’ve got,” he added.
The episode also checked in with Terry’s family members who are shocked to see him having to go through potentially life-changing surgery.
Having looked up to him all his life, Terry’s son, also named Terry, reflected on seeing his hero in pain.
“He’s a tough old boot, my dad, and to see him actively respond to pain and discomfort is quite unusual, so it hits home that it’s pretty severe”.
“It was all a bit of a shock for him, bless him,” said Terry’s wife Sharon, holding back the tears.
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Check if you have the “flesh-eating disease”
Necrotising fasciitis, also known as the “flesh-eating disease”, is a rare and life-threatening infection that can happen if a wound gets infected.
It needs to be treated in hospital straight away.
Symptoms of necrotising fasciitis can develop quickly within hours or over a few days.
At first you may have:
- intense pain or loss of feeling near to a cut or wound – the pain may seem much worse than you would usually expect from a cut or wound
- swelling of the skin around the affected area
- flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature, headache and tiredness
Later symptoms can include:
- being sick (vomiting) and diarrhoea
- confusion
- black, purple or grey blotches and blisters on the skin (these may be less obvious on black or brown skin)
Call 999 or go to A&E if:
- You have a cut or wound that is much more painful than you would expect
- You have a cut or wound and get symptoms like a high temperature, headache, tiredness and muscle aches
- You have sudden confusion
- You have black, purple or grey blotches or blisters near a cut or wound