Awards of the JLO Prize for Best Junior Presentation (l-r): Edward Fisher, Emily Moore (winner), Neil Wier, Hamza Quereshi (runner-up).
The British Society for the History of ENT Annual Meeting is a delightful break from conventional scientific meetings as it delves into the history of the field of ENT, simultaneously lending itself as a foothold for the discussion of art and ethics – a refreshing break from the average medical meeting with statistics and guidelines.
Various topics (more or less controversial) were discussed. We admired the great ENT surgeons of history, such as Nobuhiko Isshiki and the Isshiki Thyroplasty, David Kearney McDonogh – the first Black American ENT surgeon – Professor David Kemp’s ground-breaking discovery of otoacoustic emissions and Dr Grillo, the pioneer of modern-day tracheal surgery (Yousef Ibrahim pictured, giving the talk).
Various tales were told such as the story of Meniѐre’s disease with a review of historical documents and interpretation of artwork to decide if Vincent van Gogh suffered from the debilitating disease and the fate of the famous soprano Amelita Galli-Curci following the injury to her superior laryngeal nerve after thyroid surgery. We considered the ethical dilemmas of the Hippocratic oath and the potential of acting as accomplice in offering healthcare to dictators, as was the case with Carl Otto von Eicken, ENT surgeon to Hitler. I myself took the audience through a historical literature review of the evolution of the description of necrotising otitis externa. Finally, we were taken through the shocking use of X-rays as radiotherapy to the head and neck throughout history.
This meeting was also a reason to commemorate regional ENT societies and benefactors of ENT clinical development. Edward Fisher presented the history of the Midland Otolaryngology Society celebrating its 75-year anniversary and Katherine Conroy commemorated the North of England Otolaryngology Society, also celebrating its 75-year anniversary, reminding us why regional meetings are still important points of sharing and networking. Mark Wickham Jones, Professor of Political Sciences at the University of Bristol, commemorated the 50th anniversary of the TWJ Foundation, recounting the history and fellowship opportunities the foundation has been able to offer aspiring otologists.
The meeting closed with the society’s business side of affairs. Emily Moore was awarded the JLO Prize for Best Junior Presentation in her fascinating talk about head and neck radiotherapy through history. Katherine Conroy was promoted from trainee representative to a full member of the society following her acquisition of the FRCS. The position of trainee rep was filled by Ruby Sekhon.
Future meeting details: 30 November 2023 at ENT Room, Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE.
Vasiliki Bisbinas, ENT Clinical Teaching Fellow, Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK.
