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The death of Attila the Hun, a 70s film and Japanese cartoons

The 6th century Gothic monk, Jordanes, tells us that Attila the Hun, the notorious and allegedly merciless barbarian (who was a prime mover in the fall of the Roman Empire), died of a nosebleed on his wedding night in 453...

A tribute to Mead C Killion, PhD 1939-2025

The renowned audiologist and inventor Mead Killion passed away comfortably on 3 November 2025 in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, US. Mead was known for inventing products that left us scratching our heads, trying to figure out why we hadn’t thought of them...

How can we be SMART with virtual consultations?

At the beginning of 2020, video conferencing and phone consultations accounted for less than 1% of all consultations. Now it is probably 70%. Whilst there are many remote consultation solutions available, Tina Marshall describes what the ideal solution should look...

Physician health and wellness amidst a global pandemic

Dr Westerberg attended a workshop on Physician Wellness hosted by Dr Osler a few years ago at our Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery meeting. The list of symptoms of stress and burnout resonated as typical of almost a...

The use of a tactical throat mic guitar amp system to improve communication in theatre in the COVID era

During the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV2) pandemic, current guidelines dictate that surgical teams wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in theatre. Currently this is, at a minimum, an FFP3 respirator, a visor, fluid repellent gown and gloves [1]. Many surgeons, particularly in...

Anxiety and acronyms – musings of an otolaryngologist

Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been a focus of attention and concern for healthcare workers around the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neil Tolley discusses some of the issues. I write this article in mid-May when, were it not for...

Ear, nose and throat surgery in children – where will it be in 15 and 50 years?

Michael Kuo, David Albert and Mike Saunders have put their collective heads together to predict the future of ENT surgery in children; will there be a rise in workload due to increasing survival of children with complex medical problems? Or...

BACO: evolution and modernisation

Chairing the local organising committee is no small task, but it has a personal connection for Tim Woolford, as he tells us. I attended my first BACO in Manchester as a registrar, and have attended every one since. In July,...

Lessons learned from running a national thyroid surgery registry

The UK Registry of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgery is now yielding the rewards of meticulous data collection and years of hard work. David Scott-Coombes discusses the advantages and the unintended consequences of their success. The British Association of Endocrine and...