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BACO: The Master’s role

Ian Mackay is this year’s BACO Master, with Valerie Lund taking over for the next meeting. As the senior overseer of the conference, the role of Master is a crucial one, and Ian tells us how he has gone about...

Academic BACO 2015

Putting together the academic programme for BACO is a monumental task. Academic Chairman Shakeel Saeed and Peter Andrews, the Academic Secretary of the conference, tell us how to make it a success. Conference season is nearly upon us, and Liverpool...

What does an Olympic medal and surgery have in common?

Competing against female Eastern Bloc athletes in the 1980s was a thankless task, demanding a mulish tenacity in an often futile cause. Ideal preparation for a career in surgery? My path to medicine was unusual, in that I left school...

Why is a Raven like a writing desk? Some reflections on countertenors and castrati

The countertenor voice has seen a resurgence in popularity in the last 50 years. Nicholas Clapton is one of the foremost performers and teachers of his generation, and he tells us here about the link between countertenors and the (fortunately...

Vocal cord dysfunction and dysfunctional breathing: an evolving clinical paradigm

Patients frequently present to the ENT department with breathing difficulties. The entity of ‘vocal cord dysfunction’ (also known as paradoxical vocal cord movement, inducible laryngeal obstruction, and many other names) is increasingly well recognised. Ravi Thevasagayam gives us an overview....

Barotrauma

Barotrauma is an injury which is due to the effects of pressure upon an air-containing space. Healthy middle ear cavities and paranasal sinuses are normally in equilibrium with the atmospheric pressure, but if an individual moves away from the surface,...

Military otolaryngology and its impact on civilian trauma care

Over the centuries, military conflicts and wars have caused both death and injuries and led to improvements in the care of the combat wounded. Military otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons have been at the forefront of these developments and advances. War...

The role of the respiratory physician in sleep medicine

ENT surgeons may feel that they are the first point of referral for the majority of patients with snoring and possible obstructive sleep apnoea, but in reality a significant number of patients with sleep-disordered breathing (of any cause) are seen...

The modern management of Ménière's disease

In this article, John Phillips considers the evolution of management options for Ménière’s disease. Treatment options past and present are discussed, together with an insight into future developments regarding the role of intratympanic steroids. Ménière's disease can be the source...

TWJ Fellowship – Toronto 2015: Endoscopic Ear Surgery

The Thomas Wickham Jones (TWJ) Foundation is a charitable trust with the aim of helping patients with deafness overcome their disability. Striving to achieve this goal they provide educational grants to otolaryngologists and other related audiological professionals working within the...

Cognitive spare capacity: what is it and why does it matter?

Cognition refers to thinking and memory. So why would cognition be a useful concept for ENTs and audiologists? Audition provides our main channel of communication and when we speak to each other, we want to exchange thoughts and remember what...