A tooth infection turned into a life-threatening flesh-eating disease for a man in England. According to Metro, Terry from Suffolk is concerned that he could lose his vision as the area under his eye became filled with pus. Terry shared his journey on The Face Doctors, a new series on Discovery Plus. It focuses on cutting-edge treatment to rebuild and repair wounds from genetic conditions to emergency trauma. In Terry's case, things went downhill after he got a tooth removed by a local dentist.
It led to the development of abscess and Terry was rushed to local hospitals to prevent the situation from worsening.
"I left it too long really, I waited until Monday to go back to the dentist and they sent me over here with a letter," he told Metro.
He was told that the cause of swelling under his eye was likely from inside his mouth. He was treated at the hospital due to immediate concern.
Maxillofacial surgeon Shadi Basyuni decided to carry out a surgery to remove the pus. "Tooth infections can be really dangerous, because if it spreads into the eye socket he could lose his vision and that would be catastrophic. In addition, he could be left with significant disfigurement, consequences of this appearance, his self-esteem, so this is a more urgent case," he said.
"If it spreads into the eye socket he could lose an eye. If it spreads into his bloodstream, he could get more generally unwell, and we call that sepsis, which can be life-threatening," he said on the test results that showed a "very aggressive infection".
The life-threatening infection was eating away his face, the doctors got to know. During the surgery, they discovered the tissue around his face is full of micro-organisms and bugs.
The skin of Terry's eyelid had also turned black.
After the emergency surgery, Terry spent eight weeks in recovery. He said on the programme that the medical procedure saved his life. "Any further than that, it could have gone to my brain, and that would have been curtains wouldn't it. You don't realise how lucky you are when you're going through life normally until something like that happens and makes you realise what you've got really."
