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The pioneers of endoscopy and the sword swallowers

Adolf Kussmaul drew inspiration from an unlikely source to further the development of endoscopy… The early pioneers of airway endoscopy and oesophagoscopy were bedevilled by two major and seemingly insurmountable problems. One was the paucity of light sources, with reliance...

The HEARO Procedure for cochlear implantation

Cochlear implants have become the state-of-the-art treatment for profound to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Since its popularisation, many aspects of this technology have constantly been optimised. Processors have become smaller, are worn behind the ear and are even water resistant....

Absorbing the hurt

In this article, taken from his blog, ENT surgeon John McGarva reminds us that while we can’t fix everything, we may still be able to help. It was a long time ago. I was a scarily young Houseman, barely 22,...

Hearing and balance clinical trials network (HEARING CTN)

About the HEARING CTN The HEARING CTN is a new UK research network focused on promoting research collaboration and supporting high quality research studies, with the aim of improving the evidence supporting the diagnosis and management of hearing loss and...

A ‘rye’ tail – the fatal illness of Lord Boringdon, a Regency tragedy

The anonymous privately-printed book, Some Account of Lord Boringdon’s Accident, describes in deferential terms a case of aspiration of a foreign body and its sequelae. Today aspirated foreign bodies are serious but curable injuries; before the invention of the bronchoscope...

The first compact auriscope: the 1865 speculum auris of Dr Brunton

Bringing light into darkness can also be a task for the physician. With the advent of endoscopy (initially by reflecting light into body cavities), new methods of diagnosis and treatment became available to the otologist. In 1865, the Scotsman John...