Situational awareness in driving, and lessons for surgeons.

It is often said that medicine could learn a lot from aviation. Human and system errors affect all complex organisations including healthcare, and there is increasing awareness of the role of non-technical skills in the safe practice of surgery. Comparisons are often drawn between the way in which the aviation industry learns from errors and the paucity of learning from errors in situational judgement in medical practice.

Synovial chondromatosis: Report of a rare surgical problem of the temporomandibular joint.

Synovial chondromatosis of the joint is a rare benign condition characterized by the formation of metaplastic cartilage in the synovium of the joint resulting in numerous attached and unattached osteocartilagenous bodies. It may recur after surgical intervention. For this reason removal of the synovium and the bodies is advocated.

Haemorrhage from the maxillary artery. A case report.

Haemorrhage from the maxillary artery can be life-threatening. The literature related to ligation of the external carotid artery at various levels to control such haemorrhage is reviewed and a case presented where a severe haemorrhage from the maxillary artery was controlled by ligation of the external carotid artery distal to the posterior auricular/occipital trunk.

Ameloblastic sarcoma of the mandible.

Malignant ameloblastic odontogenic tumors have traditionally been classified as either ameloblastic fibrosarcomas, dentinosarcomas or odontosarcomas. This separation is based on the presence of either dentine or dentine and enamel in some lesions. To date, 28 cases of ameloblastic fibrosarcoma, one case of ameloblastic dentinosarcoma, and seven cases of ameloblastic odontosarcoma have been reported in the literature.

Haemangioma of the mandible. Diagnosis and management.

A case of haemangioma of the mandible is presented. The clinical and radiological features, including the use of angiography, are discussed. An approach to the surgical management of haemangioma of the mandible is given.