One Survey to Rule Them All

Does surgical volume correlate with outcomes in TMJ replacement surgery?

OBJECTIVE

To survey oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) who perform temporomandibular joint replacement (TMJR) to determine whether length of surgery, specific TMJR protocols, or the incidence of complications are related to experience and case volume.

STUDY DESIGN

An anonymous electronic survey was emailed to 407 surgeon members of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Society of Temporomandibular Joint Surgeons, and European Society of Temporomandibular Joint Surgeons known to have TMJR experience via publications or reputation. The descriptive survey contained multiple choice and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics were computed for each variable for data analysis.

RESULTS

Forty-nine surgeons completed the survey. The average stock TMJR cases included 54.6% unilateral and 50.5% bilateral cases. The average custom TMJR cases included 50.5% unilateral and 49.5% bilateral cases. Average procedure time for stock TMJR was 2.86 hours for unilateral, and 5.30 hours for bilateral cases. The average procedure time for a custom TMJR was 2.75 hours for unilateral, and 4.87 hours for bilateral cases. Average duration of hospital stay for stock and custom TMJR cases was 1.49 and 1.41 days (unilateral), and 1.98 and 1.95 days (bilateral).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides some pilot data that demonstrates that the length of surgery, specific TMJR surgical protocols, and the incidence of complications may be related to surgeon TMJR experience and case volume.

International clinical assessment of smell: An international, cross-sectional survey of current practice in the assessment of olfaction

OBJECTIVES

Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is common and carries significant personal and societal burden. Accurate assessment is necessary for good clinical and research practice but is highly dependent on the assessment technique used. Current practice with regards to UK/international clinical assessment is unknown. We aimed to capture current clinical practice, with reference to contemporaneously available guidelines. We further aimed to compare UK to international practice.

DESIGN

Anonymous online questionnaire with cross-sectional non-probability sampling. Subgroup analysis according to subspeciality training in rhinology ('rhinologists' and 'non-rhinologists') was performed, with geographical comparisons only made according to subgroup.

PARTICIPANTS

ENT surgeons who assess olfaction.

RESULTS

Responses were received from 465 clinicians (217 from UK and 17 countries total). Country-specific response rate varied, with the lowest rate being obtained from Japan (1.4%) and highest from Greece (72.5%). Most UK clinicians do not perform psychophysical smell testing during any of the presented clinical scenarios-though rhinologists did so more often than non-rhinologists. The most frequent barriers to testing related to service provision (e.g., time/funding limitations). Whilst there was variability in practice, in general, international respondents performed psychophysical testing more frequently than those from the UK. Approximately 3/4 of all respondents said they would like to receive training in psychophysical smell testing. Patient reported outcome measures were infrequently used in the UK/internationally. More UK respondents performed diagnostic MRI scanning than international respondents.

CONCLUSIONS

To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive UK-based, and only international survey of clinical practice in the assessment of OD. We present recommendations to improve practice, including increased education and funding for psychophysical smell testing. We hope this will promote accurate and reliable olfactory assessment, as is the accepted standard in other sensory systems.

Interest in global surgery rotations among oral and maxillofacial surgical residents in the United States

PURPOSE

This study sought to assess interest in global surgery rotations among current United States (US)-based oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) residents.

METHODS

An anonymous 23-question survey was distributed to 633 current OMS residents in the US to examine resident interest in global surgery rotations during residency. The primary outcome variable was resident interest in participating in global OMS rotations during residency training, whereas the primary predictor variable was the presence of residency faculty involved in global OMS work. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all study variables and univariate/multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of interest in global OMS rotations.

RESULTS

A total of 120 residents with an average age of 30.4 ± 3.2 years responded to the survey. At present, 22 (18.5%) residents stated that their residency programs offer some sort of global OMS rotation and 21 (95.5%) of these claimed they were willing to participate in global OMS rotations at their residency program. Out of the residents who stated their program did not offer a global OMS rotation, 86 (87.8%) respondents stated they would be interested in adding a dedicated global OMS rotation to their residency curriculum. The presence of OMS residency faculty involved in global OMS work (p = 0.030) and a resident's willingness to dedicate vacation time to participate in a global surgery rotation (p = 0.005) were associated with increased interest in a global surgery rotation.

CONCLUSION

The majority of respondents would welcome a dedicated global OMS rotation during their residency training.

What Are the Lessons Learned From the Virtual Interview Process for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Programs Affected by COVID-19?

Purpose

With the outbreak of COVID-19, residency programs for the 2020 to 2021 OMS interview cycle were forced to quickly adapt to a new method of assessing candidates—virtual interviewing—for the first time. The purpose of this study is to describe applicants’ perspectives regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual interview process through an online descriptive survey.

Methods

This cross-sectional study utilizes a descriptive survey sent to the 2020 to 2021 interview cycle applicants of the University of Illinois at Chicago Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (UIC OMS) residency program. The survey consisted of questions employing both scaled and open-ended designs. The questions were fabricated to extrapolate applicants’ perceived advantages and disadvantages of virtual interviewing compared to their expectations of in-person interviewing by focusing on interactions, number of interviews received/attended, and overall applicant satisfaction. Descriptive statistics were computed for each variable for data analysis.

Results

In the 2020 to 2021 UIC OMS residency cycle, there were 288 applications. A total of 102 surveys were collected (response rate = 35.4%). Respondents attended more interviews during the virtual format due to accessibility (64.7%), and cost savings (63.7%). 42.2% of applicants felt they did not present themselves as well during the virtual interview as they would have in person and 46.1% felt they did not have a good understanding of the culture of the program after the interview. 49.0% of all participants do not feel that virtual interviews should continue in the future.

Conclusions

Virtual formats would allow access to a greater number of interviews; however, they lack the ability to promote effective interaction between applicants, residents, and faculty members. The results of the study show that although applicants agreed that interviews were more accessible this year, they felt that the “personal” interaction was lacking and they could not present themselves effectively with the virtual format. Ultimately, almost half (49%) of the respondents do not wish for virtual interviews to continue in the future.