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A multidisciplinary conference composed of the essential medical, surgical, dental, and allied specialists involved in the region of the head and neck, with resources to call upon other contributors when necessary, was undertaken at a major teaching center in the Northeastern U.S.A. (Long Island Jewish Hillside Medical Center). Meeting on a bimonthly basis with referrals accepted from all sources, but non-publicized, a total of 343 patients were seen over a period of 50 months. The results indicate that optimum patient care can be achieved with a minimum loss of time for treatment initiation and substantial cost savings from these specialists meeting as a group.

This paper presents a case of benign osteoblastoma that showed regression during a long-term follow-up, and illustrates that the course of any disease in any instance is not always predictable with certainty.

In recent years great interest and clinical activity have been directed toward the grafting of soft tissues within the oral cavity. Procedures have been devised for utilizing autogenous skin and palatal and buccal mucosa. Porcine (pigskin) xenografts have become commercially available for use as a biologic dressing for intermediate coverage of defects. Research on burns, decubitus ulcers, thermal tissue loss, and traumatic skin loss has demonstrated favorable clinical results. This preliminary report on the clinical use of pigskin in 25 unselected cases involving oral plastic, reconstructive, and ablative procedures illustrates its potential for further study as well as its effectiveness and convenience.