Telemedicine in oral and maxillo-facial surgery: An effective alternative in post COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The aim of this work was to demonstrate the advantages of using telemedicine (TM) in the management of the outpatients with maxillofacial surgical pathologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted at the MaxilloFacial Surgery Unit of “Magna Graecia” University of Catanzaro, on two different groups of patients: a group of follow-up patients (A1: patients in oncological follow-up after surgical treatment performed before the COVID-19 pandemic; A2: suffering from chronic lesions such as precancerous lesions), and a group B of patients with first urgent visits (B1: patients with suspected oncological pathology; B2: patients with suspected urgent disease such as medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ), odontogenic abscesses, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dislocation, etc.). Participation in the study required possession of a smartphone with Internet access, e-mail and the use of a messaging service (WhatsApp or Telegram) to send photos and messages; completion by the patient of a COVID-19 screening questionnaire; submission of a satisfaction questionnaire by the doctors and patients. A total of 90 patients were included in this study. A high percentage of satisfaction emerged from the analysis of the satisfaction questionnaires of both patients and doctors.TM thus represents an excellent opportunity to improve accessibility to oncological and non-management activities, reducing the risk of Covid-19 dissemination and should be promoted and implemented in the postpandemic era.