Declan Costello, MA, MBBS, FRCS(ORL-HNS),
Consultant Ear,
Nose and Throat Surgeon,
Wexham Park Hospital,
Slough, Berkshire, UK.
E: d.costello@nhs.net
TW / X: @Voicedoctor_uk
Regular readers will know that we have been publishing supplements in different specialties every four months; these give us up-to-the-minute developments on certain topics. For July/August 2025, we are delighted to feature a group of articles on head and neck surgery, brought together by Ajith George.
A generation ago, updates in a magazine focused on ENT surgery and audiology would probably have highlighted new surgical techniques and audiological devices. Technological advances in healthcare have moved at an extraordinary pace in the last few years – and perhaps in unexpected directions – and our supplement reflects the fact that artificial intelligence (and specifically machine learning) will have a huge impact on healthcare in the coming years. I am very grateful to Ajith for curating such a fascinating group of articles.
This focus on technology is reflected elsewhere for Jul/Aug 2025, with our Trainee Matters article looking at the future of virtual simulation in audiology training.
Treatments for head and neck cancer are evolving rapidly and there is much focus on the side effects of treatment. So it is timely that we feature a fascinating article by Camilla Dawson, Mary Quinn and Paul Pracy on the subject of ‘treatment regret’, looking at the trade-off between survival and quality of life.
As ever, our Newsr section is packed with news from around the globe: ENT surgeons the world over will be familiar with ENT Masterclass®, which provides free, high-quality education. It was the brainchild of our good friend Shahed Quraishi, and it is approaching its 20th anniversary. Speaking of meetings, we were delighted to have attended the ESPO Conference, and, as we go to press, we have just returned from the ERS Congress in Budapest, where we were distributing copies of Claire Hopkins’ rhinology supplement; look out for a full report in the next issue.
With this edition, we say ‘adieu’ to our longstanding friend and colleague, Kim Ah-See, who has edited the How I Do It section of the magazine since 2007. I had an online chat with him – click here to read more.
And finally, we have a wonderful announcement to make: our very own Francesca celebrated her marriage to Henri in May. Many of you will have met Francesca at conferences, and if you have ever contributed to the magazine, you will have exchanged messages with her. We are delighted at this news – many congratulations to Mrs and Mr Brummer!
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