Andrew Sadler and Leo Cheng. Sorejaw, 2016 price £24.50 pp. 198 ISBN

9780956937773

This handy guide is useful reading for dental core trainees (DCTs) preparing for their first foray into the daunting world of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS). It presents an uncomplicated overview of the speciality, the role and responsibilities expected of the DCT and makes headway into deconstructing the basic surgical and medical knowledge required to do the job competently.

Four chapters have been revised and five oral medicine chapters added as the authors strive to reflect updates in practice, regulation and hospital procedures. The short chapters, typically four pages long, are designed to be quick reads and to the reader's eye are pleasingly punctuated with useful illustrations such as intraoperative photographs or commonly encountered kit.

Introductory chapters suggest how to get the most out of your maxillofacial experience, giving examples of job opportunities and personal development plans. Information handling, data protection, cross infection control and safeguarding against bloodborne viruses complete the 'induction'.

There follows a brief, functional overview of clinical environments including the ward, day surgery, theatre and ITU. This is pitched at entry level, with basic information from understanding ASA grades, to how to perform a surgical scrub. Principles of consent are stated but treatment-specific consent is omitted given newcomers are not expected to consent patients for unfamiliar procedures.

Managing medical emergencies, wound closure, dental abscesses, minor oral surgery and oral haemorrhage are topics the DCT will have covered during undergraduate and vocational/foundation training, however, revision within an OMFS context is beneficial. Trainees will be less familiar with tasks such as how to perform a systematic facial trauma assessment, or interpret blood results, facial X-rays or CT scans. These subjects are covered logically and to an appropriate level. Contrarily, inpatient care describing fluid and blood replacement is underdelivered, especially with regards to ordering and administering blood products. Microbiology swabs, with respect to managing dental abscesses, is mentioned, however, this could have been expanded to include indications for blood cultures, TB/sputum sampling, swabs, aspirates and how to effectively liaise with microbiologists.

Head and neck major cases undertaken by OMFS oncology teams provide an excellent opportunity for DCTs to observe, assist and learn. Complementary chapters describe the patient journey from diagnosis and MDT meeting through surgery, recovery and, where indicated, adjunctive radiotherapy. The surgical sequence is described, from PEG tube and tracheostomy, to neck dissection, cancer resection and reconstruction. Absent is a section detailing a methodical head-to-toe assessment tool for the post-operative oncology patient to familiarise the trainee with, for example, DVT prophylaxis, donor site exam, PEG checks, bowel and chest sounds, drains, fluids, blood tests, trachy maintenance, oxygen therapy, extra oral wounds, intraoral flaps and Doppler signals.

The final chapters cover minor oral surgery and oral medicine conditions commonly encountered in outpatients, such as third molar extractions, odontogenic cysts, TMD and premalignant lesions. Again, this is dental graduate level knowledge, however, it provides salient revision.

This book does not purport to impart the overnight medical knowledge of an FY1 doctor, and further improvements could be made to maximise benefit to incoming trainees. It does provide relevant insight into the speciality, presenting fundamental concepts in a logical, digestible, well-illustrated manner. This updated edition could help prospective, proactive trainees successfully navigate their initial few months in post.