Harvey Coates, Clinical Professor University of Western Australia
The 14th Frontiers in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery was held in Hobart, Tasmania and sponsored by the Passe and Williams Foundation (formerly known the Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation).
I’ve been to every one of the 14 meetings held over the last 28 years because of my belief in the Foundation’s commitment to training and research. As with every other Frontiers meeting, the conference was an opportunity for researchers in the field to meet, exchange ideas and see the latest developments in the field.
This year, the invited keynote speakers were Prof Karen Kost from McGill University in Montreal and expert in voice, Prof Mahmood Bhutta, an old friend from Brighton and Sussex Medical School with his passion for sustainable global ear health, and Prof Charles Limb from UC San Francisco renowned for his research in the neurobiology of music.
Prof Simon Carney (left) and President Elect of ASOHNS Prof Bernie Lyons (right)
The keynote address by Prof Kost covered the ageing voice and balloon dilation of subglottic stenosis in the office. There was also a fascinating session on laryngology and voice including Prof Catherine Sinclair and the queen of Australian theatre Marina Prior discussing the performer’s perspective.
Prof Bhutta gave a dramatic presentation on the effects of sweatshops and child labour on the medical supply chain and on the management of the discharging ear in a low resource setting.
Prof Catherine Sinclair and Prof Bill Coman AM Chief Trustee of GPRWMF.
Prof Limb had the audience enthralled with his talks on musical creativity and the brain, and gerontologist Prof James Vickers discussed the deleterious effect of hearing loss and the enhancing effect of music on patients with dementia.
Dean Beaumont, former trustee of the Passe and Williams Foundation, gave the inaugural Colin Richards and Peter Freeman Lecture (named after the two guiding lights early in the
Foundation’s development) and the incredible Ed fact the $A70 million dollars granted for chairs, sponsored research, post-FRACS Fellowships and surgeon scientists over the last 28 years. To hear the young surgeons present their cutting-edge surgical and research outcomes was to feel confident that the future of Australian and New Zealand ORL-HNS is in excellent hands.
Following an interesting panel on mentors and gatekeeping in ENT, the conference finished with a dinner at Frogmore Creek winery where Jane Clark, senior curator of the Museum of Old and New Art ( MONA), gave an intriguing talk about this interesting and challenging museum which has single-handedly transformed Hobart into an international art destination.
My main takeaway learnings from the meeting were: the importance of early management of vocal cord palsy by injection laryngoplasty; the effects of ageing on the voice and its management; plus the cutting-edge research in otology using healthy bacteria.
Foreshadowed was the concept and support for a National Indigenous Centre for ENT (NICENT), possibly in Newcastle. This is strongly supported by Prof Kelvin Kong AM and Prof Rob Eisenberg and ASOHNS and is is currently being explored by members of the committee with all stakeholders in the field. Currently ASOHNS has completed a National Indigenous Coordination of ENT outreach, which aims to improve health equity by working in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander communities to provide access to ENT services. A national survey was facilitated by ASOHNS over the last year detailing the visits to rural and remote communities.
The next Frontiers meeting will be in July 2028 on the Gold Coast in Queensland.
