Abstract:
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) is among the newest established medical specialties and its full scope is not fully known by other specialties. The aim of the present study is to record the perception of OMFS scope by general medical practitioners (GMPs) of the National Health Service in Greece. A cross-sectional study was conducted in GMPs via a structured questionnaire. Questions involved various head and neck disorders and possible referring medical specialties. 66 answered questionnaires were included in this study. Participants were established to regional health practices, health centres or hospitals. 77.2% of the participants would refer a facial laceration to a plastic surgeon and only 7.2% to an OMFS. 89.3% would refer a zygoma fracture to an OMFS and 10.6% to an ENT. The vast majority would refer a tongue cancer, a neck mass and a mouth lesion to an ENT (74.8%, 81.8%, and 48% respectively). OMFS scope awareness of GMPs can be considered low. Thus, widening the knowledge of OMFS practice in primary grade medical practitioners is of high importance. Early exposure of medical students to the specialty could be a valid option to achieve this target.
摘要:
口腔颌面外科(OMFS)是最新建立的医学专业之一,其全部范围尚未被其他专业完全了解。本研究的目的是记录希腊国家卫生局的全科医生(GMPs)对OMFS范围的看法。通过结构化问卷对GMPs进行了横断面研究。问题涉及各种头颈部疾病以及可能的参考医学专业。本研究包括66份问卷。参与者建立了区域卫生实践,健康中心或医院。77.2%的参与者会将面部裂伤转介给整形外科医生,只有7.2%的人会转介给OMFS。89.3%的人将zy骨骨折转归OMFS,10.6%的人将ENT转归。绝大多数人会提到舌癌,耳鼻喉科的颈部肿块和口腔病变(74.8%,81.8%,分别为48%)。OMFS对GMPs的范围意识可以被认为较低。因此,在初级医学从业者中扩大OMFS实践的知识非常重要。医学生尽早接触该专业可能是实现这一目标的有效选择。