Professor Manohar Bance, President of the UK’s Royal Society of Medicine Otology Section, looks forward to a packed programme.
What a great honour to be incoming president of the Otology Section at the RSM, with my superb secretary James Tysome. The last two years have been very trying and we are looking forward, as a national community, to welcoming ENT surgeons specialising in otology back to the RSM, to talk to each other and learn together in person; not forgetting socialising and seeing old friends. We must also focus on supporting trainees to be part of our community and to help with this, we are having face-to-face meetings all year.
We have included something for everyone at each meeting, with a good mixture of practical everyday otology topics, cutting edge developments coming down the pipeline, and clinic or surgery tips and tricks.
World leading clinicians and scientists will deliver this content as well as busy community otologists. The programme is published for the whole year in advance on the RSM website, so you can book your diaries out now.
There will be trainee presentations spread throughout the year, together with the opportunity for trainees to compete for prestigious awards and prizes which are promoted on the RSM website. We are also aiming to arrange funding for trainee meet-and-greet receptions (perhaps with consultants as well) following several meetings, to re-emphasise the networking and social aspects of the RSM.
There is a packed programme for 2022-23:
Friday 4 November: Presidential address, followed by a deep dive on Meniere’s disease which will review new and old knowledge and challenge common assumptions.
Friday 2 December: A meeting focused on sudden sensorineural hearing loss, including vestibular paroxysm, genetic hearing loss clinics, paediatric hearing loss, top tips for the clinic and medicolegal pitfalls in otology.
Friday 3 February: This meeting will explore otitis externa from different specialty viewpoints, with sessions on the development of skull-base surgery in the UK, bone conduction and middle-ear implants, and treatments for single-sided deafness.
Friday 3 March: This year’s Edith Whetnall lecture will be given by Professor Karen Gordon of the University of Toronto. The meeting will also include sessions on early intervention in children, managing otologia, practical tips in surgery and an update from gene therapy companies about hearing loss therapies.
Friday 5 May: Professor Brian Westerberg of the University of West Columbia will be this year’s RSM visiting speaker. Other sessions will explore sports imagery to improve surgical performance, tips and tricks in surgery (cholesteatoma), when should you refer for facial nerve decompression, odd eye movements in dizzy clinics, and ergonomic surgery.
Professor Manohar Bance, Professor of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, University of Cambridge, Hon Consultant Cambridge Universities Hospital Trust .
