Reconstruction of Maxillofacial Defect in Challenging Environments
Abstract
Maxillofacial reconstruction after ablative surgery has seen significant advances in recent years, driven by the integration of new techniques, material and technologies. These developments have allowed for improved functional outcomes and quality of life for patients. However, these advances may not be readily available in low- and middle-income countries where resources are constrained. In this session we will explore practical strategies and objectives for reconstruction of maxillofacial defects in these challenging environments.
Objectives
1). Review current options for bony and soft tissue reconstruction of maxillofacial defects.
2). Review factors to consider when choosing reconstruction options in resource limited circumstances.
3). Review options most often employed in resource limited situations.
Bio
Dr. Chou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Medical College. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. She completed her oral and maxillofacial surgery residency training at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Subsequently, she completed a pediatric craniomaxillofacial surgery fellowship at Charleston Area Medical Center. Dr. Chou serves as a volunteer surgeon for MercyShips, performing treatment for the underserved population in Africa.
tim bartholomew
The title of the lecture being reconstruction of maxillofacial defects in challenging environment makes one believe that this lecture is going to show more than just one example of the maxilla and one example of the mandible in reconstruction. Approximately 25 minutes of the lecture was devoted to first world surgery which really had nothing to do with the lecture topic. I was very disappointed in this. All of us know how to do all that anyway. The challenging environments part was the portion of the lecture that was, I would say, very deficient and what we came to hear. It’s a little bit difficult to hear somebody that only goes on short term trips that by their very nature there’s only so much you can do in a short term trip. In her goals at the end, she stated ‘simple surgery’ yet ‘do everything in one surgery’ which is itself contradictory as this cannot be done (and should not be done). The other thing that was very hard to follow in this lecture is that she essentially read her notes through the entire lecture which was a bit boring. It would be better to have somebody that can talk from a plethora of experience on cases and present more than just two cases, one of which, the mandible, was really nothing innovative in a Third World situation. That is simply 1990s surgery done in Africa, not anything we all don’t already know. The other thing I would say is that from having spent years and years in Africa myself, the number of reconstructive cases that are out there that one could/should present is almost limitless and to only see two presented, one of which being an iliac crest bone graft to the jaw just really made this talk fall short of being as good as it could’ve been
Overall I was quite disappointed with this lecture and feel like I learned very little. far too much time with spent on statistics and backgrounds of the need for surgery in Third World countries and this is something that really we don’t come to a lecture to want to spend any time hearing about because all of this is fairly common sense knowledge to begin with.
I have spent 20 years in Africa and it’s very frustrating to listen to lectures like this. I would say there’s a fair amount of what she said that I quite disagree with from having spent 2/3 of my professional career living on site in Africa and still continue to go over there four times a year. I’m sorry to be so critical but I think a better somebody to talk about things like this would be a person such as Gary Parker who has worked on the Mercy Ships his entire life.