The original article can be found in: Nation News By Tryrone Roach in London
A MEDICAL SPECIALIST with Barbadian roots is now one of Britain’s top oral and maxillofacial surgeons as well as a consultant at the prestigious King’s College Hospital in London.
Shaun Matthews, 50, was born in London to Barbadian parents Rudy Matthews, a project engineer, and his wife Lucille. They later returned to Barbados when he was very young and settled in Wilcox, Christ Church.
He attended Miss Carrington’s School and lists among his contemporaries Opposition Leader Mia Mottley. He then moved on to Harrison College from 1974 to 1982.
His passion for dentistry was ignited while he was getting braces and he was curious about what it had to offer as a speciality. So, on completion of his studies at Harrison College, he travelled to the University of Dundee in Scotland to study dentistry but decided that “pure dentistry was not what I wanted to do or enjoyed and realized that I was more interested in the surgical side of things”.
On completing his studies, he was attached to London’s St Thomas Hospital as an oral surgeon for six months. The consultant there at the time was Derek Henderson, internationally known and one of the best facial reconstruction surgeons of his time, and author of several textbooks.
This field treats people who have had traumatic facial problems like damage in car accidents, facial deformity, disfigurement, cancer and so on. Dentistry comes in because the jaws and teeth are involved.
In 1988, Matthews took another decision that he wanted to do more intricate surgery which would require further university study.Two years later, he returned to medical school – five years – at Charing Cross Hospital in London before going to Scotland to Canniesburn Hospital to get specialist training in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
It was from there he was head-hunted by Charing Cross Hospital where he took up his first consultant post before moving in May 2006 to Kings College Hospital, a teaching facility with a worldwide reputation.
This surgeon who specializes in joint and jaw-joint reconstruction pointed out that just as people receive artificial hips, he gives people artificial jaw joints. It is a form of medicine that is not well known – in fact, it’s relatively new and a niche area.
Jaw-joint problems are common. One in four people will have them sometime in their lives.
Matthews is considered one of the top three oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Britain because of the number of surgeries he has done, and he receives referrals from all over the world for this very expensive and intricate surgery.
Two years ago was thrust into the limelight and featured on the BBC and in major British newspapers for work done on a woman, Sandra Pearce, who could not open her mouth for 20 years.
She had severe arthritis and all her joints were fused, with her chin stuck to her chest and her teeth in appalling condition due to her inability to brush them.
She attended Matthews with her rare case. It took a long time planning, but the 13-hour operation was performed with a team of 20 – five surgeons, four anaesthetists, five theatre staff, and others. The patient remained in intensive care for three to four days. Because of the rarity of the case, she was presented to medical researchers and specialists all over the world.What gave him the greatest pleasure was when she was asked in front of the cameras to stick her tongue out. It was the first time she has seen her tongue in 20 years and the first time her 11- and 15-year-old children had seen it.
“We got a CT scan taken of Sandra’s head. We uploaded it to a company in Colorado, who were then able to make a 3D model of her skull,” Matthews explained.
This was used to create perfectly fitting titanium implants. The model also enabled Matthews to see exactly where to saw the jaw and drill bolt holes to avoid a critical nerve and artery.
Matthews relaxes by playing tennis and working out, but also loves water sports and cricket in which his interest is heightened whenever West Indies are playing.
He has fond memories of Barbados and returns at least twice a year to relax, see close friends and his mum to whom he is ever grateful for her guidance.
Recalling his childhood, he speaks of the outdoor lifestyle and a relaxed environment in the residential area where he spent a lot of time going in and out of friends’ houses. He felt the best decision his parents made shortly after he was born was to return to Barbados with him and his sister Deborah.
“It was a far better place to bring up children, with an educational system second to none.”
