Miss Eleanor Crossley, Association of Otolaryngologists in Training (AOT) President and ENT Registrar, South London Deanery
Doncaster Royal Infirmary was again the home of the 19th International ENT Masterclass in January 2025. The three-day programme was packed with sub-specialists and delegates from across the UK, Australia, China, Middle East, Europe and Africa.
The first day focused on Paediatrics and Otology. There were eloquent summaries of the current practice for common FRCS topics such as managing neck lumps and cochlear implantation, from Steven Powell, Eishaan Bhargava and Emma Stapleton. The Otology lectures covered a wide range of subjects, from facial nerve palsy to updates on dizziness, Meniere’s disease and endoscopic ear surgery. Speakers included Prof Shak Saeed, Prof Dan Jiang, Prof Yuhe Liu, Mr Asad Qayyum, Prof Peter Rea and Mr Arun Iyer. In the evening, attendees and faculty enjoyed a delicious dinner at the course’s popular local restaurant.
Rhinology and Allied Topics were the focus of the second day, showing how invaluable the ENT Masterclass talks are, not just for those sitting exams, but also for consultants wishing to refresh their knowledge on topics they might face on call. The latest in transorbital approaches, olfactory dysfunction and acute rhinosinusitis were highlighted, along with interesting panel discussions on facial plastics cases. Speakers included Prof Anshul Sama, Prof Claire Hopkins, Shahz Ahmed, Aftab Ahmed and Mr Mahmoud Daoud. Prof Bindy Sahota demonstrated the range of FRCS topics possible with live viva practice and exam tips, and the Association of Otolaryngologists in Training (AOT) President announced their upcoming FRCS exam podcast: ‘The AOT Pod’. Prof Quraishi once again kindly offered ENT Masterclass support for AOT’s annual conference, to be held in Brighton in July 2025.
Prof Faruque Riffat from Sydney gave the keynote lecture on the final day, discussing the use of biologic endoscopy in head and neck cancer, demonstrating with clinical images its use in identifying angiogenesis particularly in intermediate lesions. He discussed his research in the field and gave his insights in how it might be used as an optical enhancement tool in future clinical practice. The third day’s focus on head and neck surgery had excellent speakers including Nazia Munir, W Olarinde, Susannah Penney, Jai Manick and James O’Hara. Current management of persistent throat symptoms, salivary neoplasms and the latest in robotic surgery rounded off a comprehensive three-day programme, all free of charge for attendees.
Dr Xiaoguang Yan from Beijing Friendship Hospital was invited to give a summary of his award-winning lecture from the ENT Masterclass International hub in China last year. There will certainly be plenty of opportunities to follow ENT Masterclass abroad in the coming years. Fancy a pre-Christmas trip to Bucharest? Join the ENT Masterclass for their 4th ‘World Congress’ on 31 October and 1 November 2025.
In the meantime, you can find all of the above lectures and more on the ENT Masterclassâ YouTube channel: www.entmasterclass.com
Photos from top:
Photo 1: Otology delegates and Faculty at the 19th International ENT Masterclass
Photo 2: (R-L) Prof Yuhe Liu from Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, Mr Richard Parker OBE, CEO, Doncaster Royal Infirmary NHS Trust & Prof Shahed Quraishi OBE, Chairman, ENT Masterclass
Photo 3: Delegates at the course dinner
