The Medical and Medicolegal Implications of the Undertreatment of Pain
Pain is the commonest reason for a patient to visit their doctor, with around 25% of adults suffering from chronic pain at any one time, a figure that rises to around 50% in the over-65s.…
Read more Outcomes following upper limb injuries and their medicolegal implications
Injuries to the upper limbs can arise as the result of both disease processes, often associated with repetitive movements and wear and tear, and traumatic accidents. While many conditions can be treated successfully, the loss…
Categories : Articles, Trauma and orthopaedics
Read more The Medicolegal Aspects of Nerve, Muscle and Tendon Injury
Muscles and tendons (collectively known as musculotendinous units), and nerves are soft tissues that are found throughout the body (see figure 1). Nerves electrically stimulate the muscles, which pull on tendons which move bones – this…
Categories : Articles, Plastic Surgery
Read more A medicolegal perspective on osteoradionecrosis
Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the jaws is a well-known complication of radiation therapy to the head and neck. ORN is defined as an area of exposed necrotic bone in an area previously irradiated that fails to…
Categories : Articles, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Read more The challenges of airways management in the Intensive Care Unit
Airway management techniques were first developed in the field of anaesthesia, and advanced airway management is still an extremely important factor in the care of the critically ill patient. For this reason, intensive care medicine…
Categories : Articles, Intensive care
Read more The Medicolegal Implications of Phantom Limb Pain and its Prevention
The term ‘phantom limb pain (PLP)’ describes the painful sensations experienced in a part of the body that has been amputated, which persist after complete healing of the associated surgical wound. It is an extremely…
Read more Facial trauma in a medicolegal context
Facial trauma can be a major cause of morbidity, particularly in young adults. This is because the head and neck region contains the major sensory and functional organs. A major component of the morbidity is…
Categories : Articles, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Read more Somatoform Pain Disorder: Pre-accident psychological history and vulnerability and the BUT FOR test in the absence of a trigger
Somatoform disorder (SD) is defined as physical symptoms suggestive of a medical condition which are unexplained by an underlying disease or mental disorder. Somatoform symptoms are common, and mild ones, such as stress as a…
Read more Potential Medicolegal Pitfalls Arising from the Unpredictable Progression of Premalignant Conditions to Oral Cancer
It is well established that oral cavity cancer, commonly squamous cell carcinomas, develops in a two-step process involving molecular and biochemical cellular alterations. This pathological evolution can be associated with clinical changes of the affected…
Categories : Articles, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Read more Future Prospects for Patients with a History of Chronic Pain
Pain is defined as chronic when it lasts for more than three months. At this point, it stops being just a symptom and becomes a condition in its own right, although it is also associated…
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