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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...

Guillotines from Joseph‑Ignace Guillotin to Greenfield Sluder

Joseph‑Ignace Guillotin. The politician and physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738-1814) was so disgusted by brutal head and shoulder injuries sustained in ‘failed attempts’ by drunken axe-wielding executioners during the French Revolution that he and surgeon Antoine Louis (1723-1792) advocated not only...

OBITUARY: Prof Shanmugam Kameswaran (1923-2021)

Professor Shanmugam Kameswaran was born in 1923 and did his MBBS and MS at Madras Medical College, India, under PV Cherian who later became the Governor of Maharashtra, India. He worked as his assistant and left for the UK in...

In conversation with Brian Westerberg and Fred Kozak

Dr Osler caught up with friends and colleagues, Dr Brian Westerberg, current IFOS Vice-President and IFOS 2021 World Congress President, and Dr Frederick Kozak, IFOS 2021 World Congress Vice-President and Scientific Committee Chair, to talk about their vision for the...

Body self-image – the ENT perspective

Body dysmorphic disorder is a serious psychiatric condition that we all need to be aware of when contemplating aesthetic surgery. It can present in children as well as adults. Prof Vieira and Dr de Carvalho discuss the tell-tale signs and...

Jacobsen’s organ

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) was not, in fact, first described by Jacobsen in 1809, but by Frederik Ruysch (1638–1731), the noted Dutch anatomist. He had an absolute passion for embalming, and his ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ in Amsterdam was acknowledged as...

The father of the history of otology

This year marks the centenary of the death of Adam Politzer (1835-1920). He has been described as the Father of Otology [1] and was certainly the most influential person in otology in the latter half of the 19th century [2]....

Michelle – Chevalier Jackson’s choking doll: Simulation in paediatric airway management 100 years ago

Simulation has become an indispensable tool in modern paediatric airway management as it offers clinicians the opportunity to practise complex procedures in a safe, controlled environment [1], although challenges will always remain in replicating the true anatomical proportions and tactile...

'If music be the food of love, play on'

Christopher Aldren Consultant Otolaryngologist, Wexham Park Hospital, UK. Chris playing at Cambridge garden party 2003. Chris with wife and sons Tom and Alex in family quartet. Chris leading the Doctors Orchestra at the Cadogan Hall in London. Christopher Aldren, Consultant...

Challenges in paediatric airway management

Paediatric airway emergencies are high-stakes, but training, simulation and updated guidelines help ENT teams manage risks and build confidence. Congratulations to the ENT Masterclass® on its forthcoming 20th birthday. Over the past two decades, Shahed Quraishi has grown it to...