Are oral and maxillofacial surgery residents being adequately trained to care for pediatric patients?

Publication date: Available online 4 May 2017
Source:Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology
Author(s): Shelly Abramowicz, Leonard B. Kaban, Andrew S. Wurtzel, Steven M. Roser
PurposeTo evaluate whether current Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) residents are receiving adequate training and experience to perform specific surgical procedures and anesthesia for pediatric patients.Materials and MethodsA seventeen-question survey was electronically sent to fellows of the American Academy of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons. Descriptive data for individual surgeons, their associated residency programs and quantity of specific pediatric procedures performed were collected. Resident case load for inpatient and outpatient procedures and overall experience in medical, surgical and anesthetic management of pediatric OMS patients were explored.ResultsSurveys were sent to the 110 active fellows; 64 completed the questionnaire (58%). There were 59 males and 5 females with a mean age of 50.4. Of them, 68.8% practice in an academic setting. Specifically, 93.8% take after hours emergency call covering adult and pediatric patients and 98.4% have admitting privileges to a children's hospital or a pediatric unit in an adult hospital. Their affiliated residency programs include required rotations in pediatrics or pediatric subspecialties. In their opinion, over 90% of graduating OMS residents have the appropriate skill set to perform dentoalveolar procedures, outpatient anesthesia, orthognathic procedures, and/or alveolar bone grafts. However, residents have limited ability to reconstruct pediatric ramus/condyle unit RCU with a costochondral graft (CCG).ConclusionsResults of this study indicate that, in the opinion of the respondents, graduates of their OMS residency programs have adequate training to perform dentoalveolar procedures, outpatient anesthesia, orthognathic surgery, and alveolar bone grafts in pediatric procedures, but have limited experience with reconstruction of pediatric RCU via CCG.



http://ift.tt/2qJoDDP