🏥 Dr Smit A. Desai · Heyansh Hospital, Ahmedabad
Maxillofacial Surgery in Ahmedabad
Tumours, cysts & cancers of the jaw, mouth and face · Dr Smit A. Desai, MDS — Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
We remove tumours of the jaw, mouth and face completely — and rebuild the jaw and face in the same operation, so you keep your appearance, your bite and your speech. Send your scan and biopsy report and you will get an honest answer on whether it can be operated.
Medically reviewed by Dr Smit A. Desai, MDS (OMFS) · Fellowships: Oral Oncology (AOMSI), Head & Neck Oncology (FHNO)
8,000+
Patients Treated
50–70
Surgeries Every Month
10+
Years’ Experience
4.9
From 261 Google Reviews
2
Oncology Fellowships
3
Ahmedabad Clinics
UNDERSTANDING THE SPECIALTY
What is maxillofacial surgery?
Maxillofacial surgery is the surgical treatment of disease, injury and deformity of the mouth, jaws and face. The word maxillofacial means simply “jaws and face” — maxilla is Latin for the upper jaw. The full specialty name is oral and maxillofacial surgery, and in common Indian usage the same field is called faciomaxillary surgery.
The specialty is wide. It covers tumours and cancers of the jaws and face, facial injuries, corrective jaw surgery, cysts and wisdom teeth, and jaw-joint problems. Almost no single surgeon does all of it — most sub-specialise.
This page is about one part of it: maxillofacial surgery for tumours, cysts and cancers of the jaw, mouth and face, and the reconstruction that follows. That is the work Dr Smit A. Desai does, and the next section says plainly what falls outside it.
PLEASE READ THIS FIRST
Maxillofacial surgery for tumours — who this service is for
✓ This service is for you if:
- You have a lump, swelling or growth in the jaw, mouth or face that keeps getting bigger
- An X-ray, CT or MRI has shown a cyst or tumour inside the jaw bone
- Your biopsy names ameloblastoma, odontogenic keratocyst, myxoma or another jaw lesion
- An oral or mouth cancer has grown into the jaw bone
- You need the jaw or face rebuilt after a tumour has been removed
- You have a tumour that has come back in an operated or irradiated area
- You have been told elsewhere that the tumour cannot be operated
- A child has a diagnosed cancer of the face or jaws — children with cancer are treated here
✕ This service is not for:
- Acute facial injury and jaw fractures needing emergency trauma care
- Corrective jaw surgery (orthognathic surgery) for bite or appearance
- Impacted wisdom teeth, routine extractions, or dental implants on their own
- Jaw-joint (TMJ) pain, clicking and locking
- Cleft lip and cleft palate repair
- Cosmetic facial reshaping where there is no disease
For these we point you to a general maxillofacial or dental unit rather than take the appointment. Tumours reaching the sinuses, orbit or skull base are treated here too — send the scan and we will tell you.
CONDITIONS
Jaw, mouth and facial conditions we treat
These are the diagnoses that bring people to maxillofacial surgery. If your biopsy or scan report names one of them, send it to us and we will explain it in plain language.
Ameloblastoma
Benign but locally aggressive — it eats jaw bone and comes back if under-treated.
Odontogenic keratocyst
Expands through the jaw quietly; high recurrence if simply drained.
Odontogenic myxoma
Infiltrates bone with no clear edge, so margins matter.
Dentigerous & radicular jaw cysts
Common, treatable, but they thin the jaw as they grow.
Oral cancer invading the jaw
Mouth cancer or tongue cancer reaching the mandible.
Tumours of the upper jaw & hard palate
Treated by partial or total maxillectomy.
Osteosarcoma & sarcomas of the jaw
Rare; wide clearance with immediate reconstruction.
Salivary gland tumours
Parotid and submandibular, benign and malignant.
Oral submucous fibrosis with change
Gutka- and areca-related; watched for malignant transformation.
Vascular lesions of the jaw and face
Assessed at the vascular malformation clinic.
Recurrent tumours after earlier surgery
Salvage surgery in operated or irradiated fields.
An undiagnosed jaw or facial swelling
Biopsy and imaging first — the diagnosis decides everything.
Not sure which one your report names? Send the biopsy report and the scan.
WHAT WE ARE ACTUALLY PROTECTING
What maxillofacial surgery protects — your face, bite, speech and swallowing
Almost nobody facing this operation asks about margins. They ask whether they will still look like themselves, and whether they will eat normally again.
- The shape of your face. The jaw is what gives the lower face its outline. Rebuilding it with bone, in the same sitting, is what keeps the face from collapsing inward.
- Your bite and chewing. Restoring the height and arc of the jaw is what later allows implants and teeth, so you chew rather than blend your food.
- Your speech. The jaw, palate and tongue work together to shape sound. Closing a defect properly keeps speech clear instead of nasal or slurred.
- Your swallowing. Keeping the mouth sealed and the tongue mobile is what lets you drink and swallow without choking.
- The nerve to your lip and chin. Where disease allows, the inferior alveolar nerve is preserved or grafted, so the lower lip keeps sensation.
WHY TIMING MATTERS
Why waiting costs you more jaw
This is the honest reason not to postpone — and it applies to benign tumours just as much as to cancer.
A jaw tumour does not stay the same size
Ameloblastoma and keratocyst are not cancers, but they are not harmless either. They expand through bone month after month, and the jaw they destroy does not grow back.
The same lesion that could have been removed with a small margin of bone becomes, a year later, a tumour needing a whole segment of jaw taken out and rebuilt with a flap.
- Less bone removed. Earlier maxillofacial surgery means a marginal resection instead of a segmental one — the lower border of the jaw stays intact.
- A simpler reconstruction. A smaller defect may need no flap at all, which means a shorter operation and a faster recovery.
- Your own teeth kept. Teeth in the involved segment go with it. The smaller the segment, the more of your own bite survives.
- Fewer recurrences. A lesion removed properly the first time is far less likely to bring you back to theatre.
- For cancer, the neck matters too. An oral cancer left alone reaches the neck nodes — read the signs and symptoms of oral cancer .
PROCEDURES
Types of maxillofacial surgery we perform
Maxillofacial surgery is not one operation. Which one you need is decided by the diagnosis and by how much bone is involved — not by preference.
Enucleation & curettage
For contained jaw cysts. The lining is removed and the bone cavity treated, keeping the jaw continuous and the teeth in place wherever possible.
Marginal mandibulectomy
The involved upper part of the lower jaw is removed while the lower border is kept, so the jaw stays in one piece and no bone flap is needed.
Segmental mandibulectomy
A full-thickness segment of the lower jaw is removed when the tumour has entered the bone, then reconstructed with bone in the same operation.
Maxillectomy — partial or total
Removal of part or all of the upper jaw for tumours of the palate, alveolus or maxillary sinus, closed with a flap or a prosthetic obturator.
Neck dissection
Where the diagnosis is cancer, the lymph nodes in the neck are cleared in the same sitting, because that is where oral cancer travels first.
Microvascular free-flap reconstruction
Bone and tissue are transferred with their own blood supply and joined under an operating microscope — see reconstructive and oncoplastic surgery.
Minimally invasive & laser-assisted approaches
Where the lesion suits it, endoscopic and laser-based approaches avoid a facial incision altogether.
Salvage surgery for recurrence
Re-operating in a previously operated or irradiated jaw is harder and is planned differently. These cases are accepted for assessment.
THE HALF NOBODY EXPLAINS
Jaw and facial reconstruction after maxillofacial surgery
Removing the tumour is the half of maxillofacial surgery that gets discussed. Reconstruction is the half that decides what your face and your meals look like afterwards.
- The jaw is rebuilt with real bone. A free fibula flap takes bone from the leg with its blood vessels, shapes it to the curve of your jaw, and joins it under the microscope. Walking is not affected.
- It happens in the same operation. You do not wake up with a gap in your face waiting for a second surgery months later.
- Soft tissue is replaced with soft tissue. Where lining, cheek or floor of mouth has been removed, a soft-tissue flap restores bulk so the mouth still works.
- The upper jaw has two routes. A maxillectomy defect is closed either with a flap or with an obturator prosthesis that plugs the gap and restores speech and swallowing.
- Teeth can come later. Once the reconstructed bone has healed, implant-borne teeth can be planned so the bite is rebuilt as well as the jaw.
- Scars are planned, not accidental. Incisions follow natural creases and shadow lines of the face wherever the tumour permits.
SECOND OPINION
Is the tumour operable? Get a second opinion on your scans
If you have been told nothing can be done, that answer deserves to be checked by a maxillofacial surgery team that operates on advanced disease routinely.
Send the reports
WhatsApp the biopsy report and the CT, MRI or OPG. No appointment needed to start.
Personal review by Dr Smit
Read personally, not by an assistant. Urgent cases are seen on priority.
An honest answer, in writing
Whether it is operable, what the operation involves, the reconstruction plan, and the real trade-offs.
Sometimes “inoperable” is the truthful answer
Some tumours genuinely cannot be removed with acceptable risk — major vessel encasement or spread to other organs. Saying so is part of the job.
You are not sent away with nothing. There is still a plan: non-surgical oncology, procedures to relieve pain, and honest support for the family.
MEET YOUR SURGEON
Meet your surgeon — Dr Smit A. Desai
Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Oncosurgeon · Heyansh Hospital, Ahmedabad
His core qualification is the one this specialty is named after — an MDS in oral and maxillofacial surgery — with two further fellowships in cancer surgery on top of it. He also practises as a head and neck cancer surgeon in Ahmedabad.
His credibility in this anatomy is published, not asserted: peer-reviewed work on advanced buccal mucosa cancer involving the masticator space, and on outcomes in oral cancers labelled technically unresectable.
- BDS, 2007–2012
- MDS — Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, 2013–2016, College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre, Bopal, Ahmedabad
- Fellowship in Oral Oncology, 2017–2019 — first batch of AOMSI
- Travelling Fellowship in Head & Neck Oncology, April 2018 — FHNO
- Junior Consultant, Head & Neck Oncology, Shankus Medicity, Mehsana
- Member — AOMSI · IAOO · IAOMS · FHNO
- Best poster, 6th World Congress 2017, IAOO Bangalore
- Speaker at 20+ national and international conferences
NAMED PROOF, NOT ADJECTIVES
Why choose Dr Smit for maxillofacial surgery
Every line below is a fact you can check.
The specialty's own degree
MDS in oral and maxillofacial surgery, then two oncology fellowships — cancer training on top of jaw-and-face training, not instead of it.
Published in this anatomy
Peer-reviewed work on compartment resection for advanced buccal mucosa cancer involving the masticator space.
Operating microscope on site
Microvascular free-flap reconstruction, so the jaw is removed and rebuilt in one sitting.
4.9 from 261 Google reviews
Over 10+ years, 8,000+ patients treated and 50–70 surgeries every month.
Honest scope
No trauma, orthognathic, TMJ or cleft work here — you are told at the first message, not referred onward late.
Recurrent & "inoperable" cases reviewed
Read a seven-year survivor’s story and an oral cancer recovery at 80.
One pathway, one city
Diagnosis, surgery, reconstruction and follow-up at a dedicated oral cancer hospital in Ahmedabad.
A written estimate before you decide
Itemised in writing once the scans are read — free, with insurance pre-authorisation help. See what drives treatment cost.
3 clinics across Ahmedabad
Maninagar, Satellite and Nikol/New Naroda — get directions and timings.
Book your maxillofacial surgery consultation
Send your scan and biopsy report on WhatsApp for an honest opinion on whether the tumour can be operated.
Also 087349 54487 (Maninagar) · 098983 48601 (Nikol) · drsmitdesai111@gmail.com · Mon–Sat 10am–2pm & 5–8pm
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Maxillofacial surgery — frequently asked questions
What is the difference between maxillofacial surgery and oral surgery?
Oral surgery deals mainly with the teeth and the bone immediately around them — extractions, impacted wisdom teeth and small cysts. Oral and maxillofacial surgery is the wider specialty that also covers the jaws, face and neck, including tumours and reconstruction.
Is faciomaxillary surgery the same as maxillofacial surgery?
Yes. Faciomaxillary and maxillofacial describe the same specialty, and faciomaxillary surgery is simply the wording used more often in Indian hospitals. The training and the qualification are identical.
Do you treat facial fractures or do corrective jaw surgery?
No. This practice is limited to tumours, cysts and cancers of the jaw, mouth and face, and the reconstruction that follows. For facial injury, orthognathic surgery, TMJ problems, wisdom teeth or cleft repair we will point you to a general maxillofacial unit instead of taking the appointment.
Is a jaw tumour always cancer?
No — many jaw tumours, such as ameloblastoma and keratocyst, are benign. They still need proper surgery because they destroy bone as they grow and recur if they are only scraped out. Only a biopsy can tell you which you have.
Will my face look different after maxillofacial surgery?
The aim is that it does not. When jaw bone is removed it is rebuilt in the same operation with bone from your own leg, shaped to your jaw, so facial outline is preserved. Incisions are planned along natural creases wherever the tumour allows.
Will I be able to eat and speak normally again?
Most patients return to speech and a normal diet, though it takes time and often speech and swallowing therapy. Rebuilding the height and shape of the jaw is what makes implants and chewing possible later.
What affects the cost of maxillofacial surgery?
The diagnosis, how much jaw has to be removed, the type of reconstruction, theatre and ward time, implants or a prosthesis, and whether radiotherapy follows. We do not publish a fixed price because two patients with the same report can need very different operations — you get a free written, itemised estimate once your scans are read. Government schemes are not accepted; cashless and reimbursement insurance claims are supported.
How long does recovery take?
Recovery from maxillofacial surgery depends on the size of the operation. Expect several days in hospital after a major jaw resection with reconstruction, and a few weeks before eating and speech settle — longer when a free flap is used, and longer again if radiotherapy follows.
Will I need radiotherapy after the operation?
For benign jaw tumours, usually not — surgery alone is the treatment. For malignant tumours it depends on the final pathology report, which is discussed after surgery.
Can I get a second opinion if I have been told the tumour is inoperable?
Yes, and it is worth doing. Send the biopsy report and the scan on WhatsApp and Dr Smit will review them personally and tell you honestly whether surgery is possible.
Maxillofacial surgery in Ahmedabad — three clinics across the city
Dr Smit A. Desai · Heyansh Hospital · trusted by families across Gujarat
Maninagar
305, Shreekar Avenue, Old Chawla Park Society, nr Bhairavnath BRTS, Gopal Chowk, Maninagar, Ahmedabad 380008
Satellite
Santorini Square, Abhishree Complex, 512, Satellite, Ahmedabad 380015
Mon–Sat 10am–2pm & 5–8pm · Sun closed
Nikol / New Naroda
Rosevill Sky A, A/33, Nikol–Naroda Rd, opp. Pushkar Icon, New Naroda, Nikol, Ahmedabad 382345
Mon–Sat 10am–2pm & 5–8pm · Sun closed