Alison McHugh, ST5 in Otolaryngology, Republic of Ireland.
Following its inaugural success last year, the Irish Head and Neck Society (IHNS) returned to the Lyrath Estate for a vibrant meeting opened by IHNS President, Professor Patrick Sheahan, who welcomed an international faculty and over 160 delegates across multiple disciplines.
In the opening symposium on oral cavity cancer, Hilda Stambuk, Snehal Patel, Ralph Gilbert, Justin Roe and Davide Lombardi enlightened the audience on malignancy of the oral cavity, from radiology to evolving technologies, reconstruction and optimisation of functional outcomes for patients. For the plenary session Martin Forster gave a thought-provoking address on the management of recurrent head and neck cancer, complemented by Professor Kevin Harrington exploring current and future applications for chemoradiotherapy and immunotherapy within head and neck cancer.
Professor Ralph Gilbert delivered the first keynote lecture on new frontiers in reconstruction. For the second keynote, Professor Pat Gullane spoke of his surgical journey and lessons learnt, encouraging junior trainees to continue the endeavours of head and neck cancer surgery.
A multi-disciplinary session emphasised patient-focused care and showcased the recently developed IHNS video series. The afternoon continued with a series of clinical cases to ‘Stump the Professors’ with Professor JP O’Neill challenging the panel of experts. The day finished with a wine reception and congress dinner.
Highlights of Saturday included three free paper sessions, the unknown primary session, and David Lombardi’s talk on sinonasal mucosal melanoma. The prize for best oral presentation was awarded to Grainne Brady (Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust) for her study on early feeding after free flap reconstruction in oral cancer. The best poster presentation was awarded to Amy Schranz (University College Dublin) for her study on the radiology of lipomas.
The meeting was an overwhelming success and we look forward to more such successes in future.
