Emma Gosnell, Otolaryngology Specialty Trainee, Health Education North West, UK, and Hannah Emerson, ENT Registrar, Alder Hey Hospital, UK.
After a five-year hiatus in face-to-face conferences, Liverpool welcomed over 1000 delegates from over 70 countries for the 16th Congress of the European Society of Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology (ESPO 2023). Still buzzing from Eurovision-mania, the ACC Liverpool provided a perfect venue for a fantastic three-day conference seamlessly organised by the programme committee, led by Professor Ray Clarke (right) and Ms Su De (left). The welcome reception with interactive performances from the Liverpool Signing Choir and Dance Syndrome certainly kicked things off in style.
The high-quality academic programme involved eight parallel sessions across seven streams with panels, symposia, workshops and instructional sessions, with not a ‘manel’ in sight. The 350 invited speakers came from across the world and included both multidisciplinary team members as well as patients putting the theme ‘Better Together’ at the heart of each session.
Left: Rosaleen Shine chats to Prof Dikkers.
The keynote lectures demonstrated where science meets clinical practice and the difficulties we currently face in healthcare. Hannah Burns highlighted how the paediatric ORL community worked together during the COVID-pandemic and how we can use social media to help us. Maryana Cherkes (right, with Dr Svitlana Levytska), a Ukrainian doctor and mother of three, helped us understand the impact of the outbreak of war on her practice and her family, a particularly poignant and moving keynote not leaving a dry eye in the auditorium.
Balanced against the themes raised by the keynote lectures were sessions dedicated to research and innovation. There were 500 abstract submissions with over 100 paper presentations and over 200 poster presentations as well as a specifically innovation focused pitch and video competition. Young ESPO co-ordinated breakfast sessions with words of wisdom being passed on to junior colleagues with sessions such as ‘A patient I remember.’
Above: Professor David Albert (right) had his retirement do on the eve of the ESPO congress. To mark the occasion, he was presented with a Karl Storz golden telescope by Ben Pattinson (pictured left), one of only four given to ENTs in the UK.
The ‘Yellow Submarine’ was converted from the Eurovision dressing room to a fully equipped centre housing the biggest simulation programme ever delivered by ESPO. Seven parallel sub-specialty streams ran 28 stations, providing 230 simulation slots over the course of the conference. The international faculty delivered supervision of animal, virtual, 3D printed and self-innovated models ranging from laryngeal cleft repair and endoscopic posterior graft placement to periorbital abscess drainage.
New events including a World Cup Challenge and Innovation Pitch certainly showcased the creative and competitive side of our colleagues. Delegates Nicolien van der Poel and Paula Coyle (right) took well deserved first place respectively.
Outside the academic programme the event allowed for multiple opportunities to form and reignite relationships with an excellent social programme from dinners to performances. The Liverpool Anglican Cathedral provided an impressive setting for the formal congress dinner followed by dancing and excellent live music by the Cheatles with the memento ESPO mugs being used by a few delegates for a slightly larger coffee on the Tuesday morning!
After such an excellent event we’re already looking forward to ESPO Stuttgart in May 2025.
