21st century gender trends of authorship in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Despite forming the majority in undergraduate medicine and dentistry programmes, females remain under-represented in all surgical specialties, including oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS). Efforts are ongoing to promote female uptake in surgery. Research output is a key metric in measuring leadership and academic advancement within a specialty. The aim of this study was to assess female authorship in research published in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from 2000-2020 with a retrospective cohort study of original articles and reviews published in the journal from five different volumes of the journal (2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 as representative time points). The gender of the first and last authors were assessed for gender by first name recognition and verified with a web-search of the author using their stated institutional affiliation when this was not clear. Articles were excluded if the gender of one of the first or last author could not be determined. A total of 501 articles were included with the gender of 1002 authors analysed. 173 (17.3%) authors were female, and 828 (82.7%) were male. The most common author combination was male-male (70.3%) and the least common female-female (4.8%). The proportion of female authors increased over time from 9.3% in 2000 to 23.4% in 2020. Females remain under-represented within surgery, but female presence in academic output is increasing at a similar rate to the numbers of female uptake in the clinical workforce which is a promising sign and indicative of progress towards gender parity.

Gender representation within editorial leadership positions of oral and maxillofacial journals.

Females are under-represented in surgery, and in leadership roles within academia. The Royal College of Surgeons of England and British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) have both initiated programmes that aim to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion in gender representation. This article quantifies the gender representation among editorial boards of oral and maxillofacial journals, and further reinforces the fact that more work is needed to promote gender parity.

An update on extracapsular dissection for the management of parotid gland pleomorphic adenoma.

Superficial parotidectomy has been the gold standard for surgical removal of benign mobile parotid gland tumours. The comparatively newer technique of extracapsular dissection, which involves careful dissection of the tumour itself without the need for formal gland excision, has gained popularity in recent years. Tumours can be removed via smaller incision, and the technique reduces the risk of Frey's syndrome (gustatory sweating) and hollowing at the site of surgery. The risk of facial nerve damage can also be lower with extracapsular dissection. If done carefully, the incidence of tumour recurrence, particularly for pleomorphic adenomas, is comparable with formal parotidectomy. We provide a brief update overview of the current evidence for extracapsular dissection in the treatment of benign parotid tumours and include several meta-analyses which provide evidence for the safety of the technique. We have also included our audited results of over 100 recent extracapsular dissections, with 0% incidence of permanent facial nerve weakness, reported Frey's syndrome and recurrence rates over the last 5 years.