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Globalisation, interconnectivity and unintended consequences

Drs Mom and Lea have thrown down the gauntlet, challenging us all to openly assess the global impact we have as countries, societies, surgeons and individuals. Being a surgeon is not all about surgery. How we respond will define our...

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...

The pong of poverty: George Orwell on the problem of olfactory classism

Throughout his fiction and non-fiction, George Orwell incorporated references to olfaction to invoke strong reactions in his readers. For example, in Nineteen Eighty-Four the protagonist Winston describes “the pleasant smell of [Julia’s] hair”. Orwell emphasises the invasiveness and emotional force...

The Dilemma of Beethoven’s Deafness

Beethoven was one of the world’s greatest musicians, and his deafness is well known. Many details of his medical conditions are known, and various theories of his hearing loss have been proposed. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in...

OBITUARY: Professor Carel Dirk August Verwoerd (1936–2026): Founding father of the European Society of Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology

Professor Dr Carel Dirk August Verwoerd. Professor Dr Carel Dirk August (Carel) Verwoerd was a driving force in the development of paediatric otorhinolaryngology in Europe. As a founding member of the European Society of Paediatric Otolaryngology (ESPO) in 1994, he...

2020 Lancet Commission on dementia: a call to action for integrated hearing healthcare

Dr Georgiou’s summary of the 2020 update to the 2017 Lancet Commission underscores the importance of medical and hearing healthcare professionals working together to tackle the modifiable risk factors that affect individuals throughout their lives, to help delay or even...

Frederik Dikkers: championing change in laryngology

Prof Dikkers shares the details of his journey into ENT surgery, his dedication to treating laryngeal papillomatosis, and his pioneering advancements in button battery safety. Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is one of the most frustrating conditions managed by laryngologists. There...

Andrew Foster and deaf education

This article examines the career of deaf African American, Andrew Foster, and his contribution to deaf education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The history of medicine has often been guilty of attributing great revolutions to a single person (usually a white man)...

Preservation rhinoplasty

Hump reduction and osteotomies to close the open roof, or lowering the whole nasal dorsum? Charles East explains how preservation techniques can improve outcomes by maintaining the integral structures of the nose. What is preservation rhinoplasty? The origins of reduction...