Report by: Vik Veer, Royal National Throat, Nose & Ear Hospital and Queens Hospital
The 10th International Surgical Sleep Society Meeting was held on 10-11 May 2019 at New York Marriott Marquis, USA. Overlooking the boisterous Times Square and it’s plethora of hotdog street vendors, this was one of the best sleep surgery conferences around. The presentations were excellent, when quite often sleep surgery conferences are more on the mediocre end of the spectrum. Several companies are now providing 5000 plus hypoglossal implants with long-term results, we were treated to the latest innovations and a wealth of experience from around the world. All very daunting for the UK members who attended the meeting and had to sit through presentations titled ‘In the age of implantation, is traditional surgery dead?’- we seem to be a long way behind our international peers. Outcomes from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for the various surgical options were also discussed and there was growing interest in myofunctional therapy. In summary, it was an excellent conference, and I am very glad I attended.
Conference room.
The inaugural meeting of the British Association of Sleep Surgeons (BASS) was also convened during this conference. A new organisation to give voice to the specific issues facing British medical professionals interested in this field (www.BASSurgeons.co.uk).
Having been to many of the conferences internationally related to sleep surgery, the meetings organised by the International Sleep Society attract the very best from around the world. I would certainly recommend those interested in this field to consider the trip down under to Brisbane in October 2020.
(L-R) Vik Veer, Kostas Chaidas, Tahir Mirza. The founders of BASS.
