The Midland Institute of Otolaryngology (MIO) autumn meeting invited trainees and consultants to the elegant Nottinghamshire Golf Club. After the morning refreshments, Anand Kasbekar, MIO Trustee and Conference Organiser, welcomed the audience with a pleasant speech and made a heartfelt tribute to the late Professor David Baguley.
The first keynote speaker was Mat Daniel, a paediatric ENT consultant, educator and coach. Daniel’s light-hearted and interactive talk on ‘How to create a successful career’ gave us an alternative perspective on this topic. He highlighted what success could mean to different individuals and included his pearls of wisdom relevant to any surgeon transitioning through their career.
There were then four excellent oral presentations up for a trainee prize. Topics were ’Tranexamic acid use in head and neck surgery,’ ‘Hearables, in-ear sensing devices for physiological signal monitoring’ and ’10-year study of acute ear infections’. The best oral presentation prize was received by Andrew Mowat, ENT ST6 from West Midlands Deanery, whose subject was ‘Posterior epistaxis management in the West Midlands’.
The second speaker was Patrick Waterson, who spoke on ‘Human factors/ergonomics,’ an important topic which is often not taught much in the NHS. He introduced the audience to AcciMap and championed change to promote systems thinking for safe healthcare.
Amro Hassan, Consultant ENT and Sleep Surgeon, gave a talk on the latest in surgery for OSA and snoring. He described his practice at Queen’s Hospital in London with excellent detailed operative drawings. There was a lively discussion on the question, “Is there a place for surgery in OSA management?” The conclusion was, yes, as it reduces the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).
The Stirk Adams lecture was given by Honorary Professor Tristram Lesser on cholesteatoma management. He graphically displayed trends seen over the years including the COVID era and summarised that we can watch and wait before attempting surgery on dry ears. It was a thought-provoking talk that will certainly encourage surgeons to re-evaluate their current practices.
The final speaker was Professor Reza Nouraei, Professor of Laryngology and Clinical Informatics, who took us through a fascinating historical journey of big data usage and artificial intelligence in healthcare and its future application in the NHS.
In addition to the trainee prize for best oral presentation, a best trainer award for West Midlands went to to Ann-Louise McDermott, Consultant Paediatric Otolaryngologist from Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
I would like to thank the committee for a delightful day and look forward to the next meeting!
Next meeting: MIO Spring Meeting 2023. Date and venue: TBC.
Karthika Shanthakunalan, ENT Clinical Teaching Fellow, Nottingham University Hospitals, Nottingham, UK.
