Telephone counselling as an adjunct to nicotine patches in smoking cessation: a randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of telephone counselling as an adjunct to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) by transdermal patch in smoking cessation.

Design: Randomised controlled trial.

Participants And Setting: 854 smokers from New South Wales, aged 18 years and older, who had smoked at least 10 cigarettes per day for the past year and responded to newspaper advertisements between October 2001 and January 2002; the trial was conducted between October 2001 and August 2002.

The use of split metatarsal osteocutaneous free flaps in palatal and alveolar defects.

A series of seven osteomucosal defects of the palate were closed by split metatarsal osteocutaneous free flaps. All seven patients had successful closure of their defects with minimal facial scarring and insignificant donor site morbidity. This procedure, performed in one stage, avoids the use of previously compromised local tissues and improves the blood supply to the area, thereby enhancing the subsequent indicated reconstruction of other damaged structures.