Matthew Cherko, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Cutting Edge Laryngology has proven to be a biennial hallmark conference, and this year displayed that more than ever. It saw London’s Royal Society of Medicine host three days brimming with excellent academic and clinical content shared between professionals interested in voice, swallowing and breathing disorders. The conference clearly demonstrated the truly interdisciplinary collaboration that we are proud of in laryngology, with international representation from laryngologists, phoniatricians, speech and language therapists, gastroenterologists and radiologists.
BLA President Declan Costello’s welcome note to the 270 attendees was followed in style by Jean-Paul Marie (University Hospital Rouen, France) describing his pioneering experience in the first laryngeal transplant operation in France (below) – a sign of the extraordinary advancements that have been accomplished in the field of laryngology in recent years. 
In the first of three keynote lectures, Marc Remacle (Emeritus Academic Professor of the University of Louvain, Belgium) shared his prodigious experience and growth over an illustrious career, including a humble account of how he embraced technological advancements in imaging technology and LASER to advance our ability to treat laryngeal disorders. His contribution to the speciality was recognised with the award of the prestigious Ishiki prize. 
Engaging multidisciplinary panels were held across the three days, with Professor Guri Sandhu (Imperial College) chairing the Voice Case Based discussions. Encouraging heated debate between the surgeons and specialist speech therapists on their treatment protocols for a myriad of vocal cord lesions, Nupur Nerurkar (Bombay, India) managed to share enough of her insights without giving away too much of her refined experience, which she shared in her later instructional on managing vocal fold cysts, sulci and mucosal bridges.
A special congratulations goes to Emilie Drinkers and Wenda Ye for their joint award of the David Howard best oral presentation prize, and to Reece Travis for winning the best poster prize.
We now look forward to convening again in Warsaw in May 2025 for the European Laryngological Society Congress.
