Professor Patrick Axon, President of the UK’s Royal Society of Medicine Otology Section, looks forward to an exciting year ahead.
It is a great honour to be the incoming president of the Otology Section of the RSM. Following the fantastic program led by Peter Rae and Kay Seymour, honorary secretary Neil Donnelly and I are excited to continue the momentum. The return of in-person meetings fosters not just education but also camaraderie and networking.
This year's program caters to all experience levels, from budding ENT professionals to seasoned veterans. Themed days combine Masterclass presentations with interactive discussions. Practical topics in everyday otology intertwine with cutting-edge presentations in complex areas. Each meeting concludes with a talk from a non-otology expert. Expect to hear from the Chief Medical Officer of the British F1 Grand Prix, an award-winning podcaster, a best-selling author, and a scientist researching with astronauts!
Here's a taste of what awaits you across the 2024-25 sessions (There are themed days across both sections but separate half-day events):
Friday 1 November
Explore ‘Developing and maintaining clinical excellence’ with the presidential address. Discuss complex otological surgical strategies and, for a thrilling finale, delve into Formula One safety with Professor Peter Hutchinson, Chief Medical Officer of the British Grand Prix!
Friday 6 December
Uncover ‘Controversies and management dilemmas’. Learn pioneering tinnitus management strategies from the team at the University of Antwerp. Young UK otologists share innovative practices, followed by insights on avoiding litigation and fostering high-performing cultures with Professor Damian Hughes (from High Performance podcast).
Friday 7 February
Discover how to ‘Improve outcomes’ with presentations on fellowship programs, regional collaborative initiatives and a Masterclass on the management of eardrum pathology. Round off with a talk on publishing success by best-selling author Rowland White. Do we all have a book in us?
Friday 7 March
Master ‘A Masterclass in paediatric ENT.’ Experts address advanced investigations and treatments for children with inner and middle ear diseases. Explore challenges and solutions in resource-limited settings and learn about a low-cost hearing device for children. Top off the day with a talk on achieving a long and healthy life by renowned ‘Blue Zone’ scientist Professor Michel Poulain.
Friday 2 May
Look towards the future with ‘Visiting professors and future developments.’ Explore opportunities for sustainable healthcare, delve into the future of otology and hearing implantation with visiting Professor Matthew Carlson and discover advancements in gene therapy for hearing loss. Wrap up with talks on the impact of microgravity on the balance system and future trends in robotic and implantable hearing solutions.
Michelle Wyatt will be the President of the section of Laryngology and Rhinology from November 2025.
I am delighted and honoured to be the next President of the Laryngology and Rhinology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine and, like Patrick, recognise there are high standards to aspire to after the excellent programme last year organised by Professor Claire Hopkins.
I am aware that our section covers a very wide range of sub-specialist interests under the umbrella of head and neck, laryngology, rhinology and paediatrics. While my focus is the latter, I have planned the year to include update sessions of speakers with expertise in as many different topics as possible. The audience at the RSM is diverse with students, trainees, generalist and subspecialists attending. I hope we can interest you all. I am grateful to my secretary Colin Butler, my fellow consultant at Great Ormond Street Hospital, for all his help in planning this year. Some of the highlights are included below:
Friday 1 November
‘Developing and maintaining clinical excellence’
Following the Presidential address, there will be a talk on Intergenerational Learning in Surgery, hopefully to benefit both the new and more established amongst us. We will then have our first update session, starting with head and neck surgery including the renowned Semon Lecture delivered by Professor Jarrod Homer.
Friday 6 December
‘Controversies and management dilemmas’
The impact of the now discredited surgeon Paolo Macchiarini on our profession will be considered and how we can move forward to learn from this. Bosse Lindquist, the journalist involved in exposing the fraud, is presenting his perspective. There will then be a review of the current status of laryngeal reinnervation and the next update session is dedicated to rhinology and includes whether we should still be operating on the sinuses and how perhaps we should be doing more paediatric septoplasty and septorhinoplasty.
Friday 7 February
‘Improve outcomes’
The day starts with Professor Aldo Faisal from the Turing Institute in Cambridge looking at the risks and benefits of AI in improving healthcare. There will then be talks on environmental sustainability and whether clinical trials actually benefit the patients. Finally, our update session will focus on laryngology.
Friday 7 March
'All things Paediatric’
Guidance will be given as to how best to answer the questions that parents ask about the more straightforward paediatric ENT issues. Then we will move onto the basic science work on the role of adenotonsillar tissue from the University of Newcastle research group. Anaesthesia is often given as a reason as to why we cannot do the operations we want where we want and a sensible framework will be presented before moving onto the final update.
Friday 2 May
‘Visiting professors and future developments.’
The RSM visiting professor Mike Rutter from Cincinnati leads one of the largest paediatric ENT programmes in the world. He will consider the ethics of innovation relating to his experience over the years. Professor Richard Douglas from Auckland with then deliver the Passe Williams lecture on setting up an Academic Surgical Service. How to fix the NHS and the role of extended reality technology in ENT education will finish off the sections’ events for the year.
The full program for the year is already available on the RSM website.
https://www.rsm.ac.uk/events/otology/2024-25/laryngology-and-rhinology-otology-event-series/
We hope that you can join us!
