Machine learning and the future of otolaryngology

If you are over 30 years of age, you have witnessed a technology revolution that has grossly affected how we live: computers have come from being an oddity to an everyday feature in our households and places of work; the...

Head and neck cancer multidisciplinary team

Why do we have MDTs? Do they make a difference to outcomes? Jon Bernstein explores the whys and wherefores of the head and neck cancer MDT, and wonders where things might go from here… Head and neck (upper aerodigestive tract)...

The future of head and neck cancer surgery

Neil Sharma paints an exciting picture of the future of head and neck surgery with nanobots and robot augmented humans – science fiction or reality? Time will tell. ‘May you live in interesting times’ reads the old Chinese curse. The...

BACO International 2018: Key Speakers

Prof Aldo C Stamm, MD, MSc, PhD Anatomy of the paranasal sinuses and skull base, and breaking the paradigms in severe spontaneous epistaxis It is a true honour to participate as an invited faculty member at the upcoming BACO International...

Have we reached our limits in endoscopic skull base surgery?

As being an anterior skull base surgeon becomes the aspiration of many ENT trainees, Professor Nicolai gives his personal insights into the future for this exciting subspeciality. Having been directly involved in the evolution of transnasal endscopic surgery (TES) since...

Thyroid cancer – the last decade

Professor Ashok Shaha describes the evolution in the treatment of thyroid cancer that he has witnessed over the last decade and the invaluable progress made by himself and others, from their contributions to staging systems and guidelines. Nuances and paradigm...

Intraoperative nerve monitoring: 2017

Having written the definitive text on laryngeal nerves, Gregory Randolph and Dipti Kamani describe the benefits of intraoperative neural monitoring and, importantly, how to proceed if the nerve is pathologically involved or there is loss of signal. Over the years,...

Lessons learned from running a national thyroid surgery registry

The UK Registry of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgery is now yielding the rewards of meticulous data collection and years of hard work. David Scott-Coombes discusses the advantages and the unintended consequences of their success. The British Association of Endocrine and...

Surgical challenges in advanced or recurrent thyroid malignancy

The management of thyroid malignancy and extent of surgery is controversial, especially considering the limitations of preoperative diagnosis. Neil Tolley provides guidance and reminds us of our responsibility not to over-treat. In the UK, 16% of thyroidectomies are performed for...

Systemic agents in thyroid cancer

For those patients who have disseminated or unresectable thyroid cancer, Dr Arabella Hunt and Dr Kate Newbold review systemic treatments, their differences, toxicities and outcomes. Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. It is subdivided into differentiated (papillary, follicular...

Surgeons and swearing

We will all know colleagues who have raised the act of swearing to an art form; just as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It could cut a workmate in half with a well-placed swear word, surgeons can be equally...

The role, aims and organisation of the 2017 IFOS World Congress

IFOS is a truly international organisation – indeed, its rules state that the Executive Committee must have representation from every continent. IFOS President, Chong Sun Kim, tells us more. Dear friends and colleagues, I am very pleased to welcome all...