THIS ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGEON DISCUSSES CUTTING-EDGE TREATMENTS THAT CAN NOT ONLY BRIGHTEN SMILES, BUT IN MANY CASES, SAVE AND RESTORE LIVES

BY AMANDA MCCOY PHOTOS BY ALEX BARRETO

As an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Steve Yusupov, D.D.S., M.D., F.A.C.S., often sees some of the borough’s most extreme cases. Patients with dental and maxillofacial disease, benign jaw tumors, and cancer of the mouth are not uncommon at the Staten Island Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery o ce, where Dr. Yusupov and his colleagues receive referrals from all over the Island. Here, through a combination of groundbreaking technology and seven years of highly specialized training in head and neck oncology, maxillofacial surgery, and general surgery, Dr. Yusupov employs a procedure only a handful of surgeons in the entire country know how to do. His mentor coined it “jaw in a day,” and according to the doctor, it’s life-changing.

“In the old days, when a patient with a benign tumor or cancer needed to have part of their jaw removed, it was a major surgery that left the patient’s face disfigured,” explained Dr. Yusupov, who joined the Staten Island practice in 2018. “Recently, there has been a paradigm shift; oral surgeons have stepped into the arena, and we are able to reconstruct the jaw in a way that gives patients their jaws back. We restore both form and function with an emphasis on dental rehabilitation.”

During the procedure the doctor takes the patient’s non weight-bearing, secondary leg bone (the bula) and through 3-D scanning, he creates a surgical plan on a computer. e bone is fashioned into the shape of the jaw and 3-D printed implants are then embedded. To connect the new jaw bone to the blood supply of the mouth, the team uses sutures finer than human hair.

“You can’t just take a piece of the bone from the leg and put it in the jaw,” he explained. “It’s a tissue transplant; it needs its own blood supply. e entire operation takes all day, eight to 12 hours, but it’s performed in one sitting. Afterward, the patients get their jaws back. After they recover, their lives are essentially unchanged.”

As a dental student, Dr. Yusupov recalled he felt compelled to have a greater impact, and when he was introduced to oral surgery, he found his calling. After receiving his dental degree, he began medical school and underwent a rigorous six-year residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery, during which he performed a four month training rotation at Staten Island Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and was introduced to Dr. David Homan, D.D.S., F.A.C.S., who guided him through fellowship selection with the NY Head and Neck Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital, where Dr. Yusupov trained in head and neck oncologic surgery, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and skull base surgery.

GP SPREAD

“Dr. Hoffman handpicks from the residents that rotate,” said the doctor, noting he connected with the practice’s progressive approach of employing the most advanced technologies available. “He was one of the people involved in helping me get the head and neck oncology fellowship, and the fact that I was able to do my residency and fellowship in different specialties gives me unique skills and abilities.”

Dr. Yusupov – who, in his spare time, performs emergency surgeries at level one trauma centers – explained that procedures like “jaw in a day” and guided implants through 3-D scanning (aptly called “teeth in a day”) are able to eradicate dental phobias and restore form and functionality that would have been considered impossible a decade ago. When asked the biggest reward of performing these operations, he responded with a laugh.

“When I treat patients with life-threatening tumors, and during follow-up they complain to me that the shade of their tooth is slightly off, that brings the biggest smile to my face. If a patient is standing in front of me complaining about the shade of his tooth or color of her scar, that means the rest of the operation went well. Their cancer is under control and their tumor was treated.”

He explained he’s proud to offer this level of care to the Staten Island community. When his family relocated to Queens from Russia when he was a teenager, Dr. Yusupov recalled that at the time, residents of the outer boroughs needed to venture into Manhattan when faced with extreme medical cases of the neck or mouth. Today, he said that Staten Island residents can get the same level of treatment without crossing the harbor. In-borough care, he said, proposes benefits that extend far beyond convenience alone.

“It’s such an important aspect of cancer care to have your family with you. Hospital depression and delirium is real, so when patients have their families around, it has such an impact on their lives.”

Staten Island Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
256-C Mason Avenue / 718.226.1251 / statenislandoralsurgery.com