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Themistocles Gluck – the true father of laryngectomy

Most head and neck surgeons and ENT-specialists may know that the first laryngectomy for cancer was performed by Billroth on 31 December 1873. Billroth´s assistant, Vincenz Czerny, had outlined the operation in experimental surgery on dogs in 1870. Three years...

From Hippocrates to COVID-19: sniffing out the disease

The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, used the ‘art of smell’ to diagnose diseases around 400BC. He also formulated miasmatic theory, which posited that disease is caused by bad smells. Bad air was strongly believed by many physicians to be the...

Vicarious (nasal) menstruation

Hippocrates himself is known to have said that when a woman’s menses are due, but instead of the usual vaginal menstrual flow, she has a haemorrhage from the nose, then this is a sure sign of pregnancy [1]. Artist’s impression...

History of ENT - Murder most foul, strange and unnatural

Hamlet written by William Shakespeare at the very beginning of the 17th century has definite otological interest. The whole play is about young Prince Hamlet’s revenge for his father’s murder. The king is killed by Hamlet’s wicked uncle, who then...

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...

Bettear: one start-up’s journey to bridging a technological gap in pursuit of auditory accessibility

Imagine your disappointment if you have been looking forward to seeing your favourite grunge band play live at the Dog and Duck for weeks. Your family is bored of you constantly playing their greatest hits. But when you turn up...

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...

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...

How will our grandchildren view COVID-19?

Alan Johnson, known to our readers as the former President of ENT UK, gives us his thoughts on the COVID pandemic, looking at it through the lens of other health crises. As I write, COVID-19 is displacing almost all other...

The multidisciplinary voice clinic

In his inimitable way, Nick Gibbins tells us why the voice clinic is the highlight of his week – and his very own field of dreams. The voice clinic has come a long way in the last 40 years. The...

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...