Ayla Tabaksert
Over 1000 paediatric ENT specialists from 68 countries said “Guten tag!” as they convened for the 17th Congress of the European Society of Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology (ESPO 2025) at the International Congress Centre, Stuttgart.
In a city known for world-class innovation, the Congress had a fitting theme of creating and implementing innovations; this was reflected throughout the programme, thoughtfully curated by Professor Christian Sittel and the organising committee. The opening ceremony kicked off with a mesmerising performance from the famous John Cranko Ballet School, celebrating 30 years of ESPO and the innovations that have led us to the present. This was followed by evolutionary biologist Professor Andreas Wagner, who shared a unique perspective on the Congress theme with his insights into innovation in nature and how evolution drives human creativity going into the future. 
The diverse and engaging academic programme involved six parallel sessions across six streams with a variety of panels, debates, workshops and instructional sessions. Topics debated included cholesteatoma, innovations in airway surgery, cochlear implantation in single sided deafness, surgery in laryngomalacia, differentiated thyroid cancer, ear reconstruction and benign laryngeal lesions. Among the panel sessions were discussions on challenging/nightmare cases, orphan diseases and ontological / rhinological emergencies, which I found invaluable as someone coming up to sitting the exam next month!
Keynote lectures were helpfully spread out across the programme. The highlight for me was hearing Professor Mike Rutter’s inspiring journey of innovation in paediatric airway surgery. We reflected on the importance of daring to innovate to push progress for the benefit of our patients, alongside the ethical considerations to be wary of when making even the smallest changes to our standard practice. 
There were more than 300 scientific contributions submitted with over 200 poster and over 100 paper presentations, as well as the E-film contest. New for ESPO 2025, case-based learning quizzes were introduced allowing audience participation and perspectives around interesting cases from across the world. Young ESPO also led breakfast sessions with experts sharing insights on papers that have changed their individual practice.
Stuttgart is also known as the ‘cradle of the automobile’, so where better to host the networking dinner than at the Mercedes-Benz museum? We were spoiled with a pre-dinner classic car exhibition, making our way down to the futuristic atrium for a delicious three-course meal and after-dinner dancing. This provided a wonderful opportunity for delegates to reconnect with friends old and new. Some of us were also lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Stuttgart’s annual traditional Spring Festival, which was full of fairground rides, beer, 'lederhosen' and 'dirndl'!
A high bar has certainly been set for Prague, which will be hosting ESPO in 2027 – I look forward to saying ‘Dobrý den!’.
