 |
|
 |
 |
| |
Rakesh Chandra, MD, Chicago, IL
The 2007 fall meeting boasted a registered turnout of 309 attendees, representing 34 states and 22 foreign countries. The group of attendees included 180 who were fellows or regular members, 65 resident members, and 64 nonmembers. The diversity of the group in attendance is a true testament to the Society’s broadening influence.
The meeting was kicked off by an esteemed international panel, chaired by Dr. Jan Gosepath, featuring both otolaryngologists and neurosurgeons who discussed methodologies in minimally invasive trans-sphenoidal hypophysectomy. Common themes expressed by the group included detailed knowledge of parasellar anatomy and interactive cooperation between the otolaryngologist and neurosurgeon throughout the procedure. The group also illustrated how endoscopic technique is gradually expanding even beyond the pituitary to areas such as the posterior fossa, mamillary bodies and third ventricle.
In the afternoon, a keynote address was given by Dr. Gerald Healy, the first Otolaryngologist elected as President of the American College of Surgeons. His impassioned presentation, entitled What’s Happening: Are We Ready, stressed our role as otolaryngologists in the American College of Surgeons. This is particularly timely, as the College has broken ground on a new facility in Washington, DC to support lobbying efforts for malpractice reform and patient advocacy. Dr. Healy also addressed the evolving role of electronic medical records and implications of pay-for-performance.
Overall, we as physicians also have to change public misconception that doctors, rather than insurance companies, are responsible for skyrocketing healthcare costs.
In addition to the array of traditional poster and oral presentation formats, the fall meeting also featured a novel medium where video presentations were displayed on laptop terminals situated adjacent to the poster area. These submissions captured a gamut of topics ranging from operative techniques in endoscopic skull base surgery, to bench models of mucocilliary clearance as seen by high speed digital video and differential interference contrast microscopy. The format seemed ideal to convey these dynamic processes. Participants were able to listen to a narrative by headphone while viewing the streaming slides and video at the terminal.
The Society then co-sponsored a Unified Airway symposium in conjunction with the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy. This forum was held two days after the formal scientific program and featured a series of panels addressing airway physiology, the association between upper and lower airway disease, and strategies in systemic, medical, and allergy therapy. This forum underscored that chronic inflammatory disease of the airway has multifactorial etiologies that must be elucidated and treated in any individual patient.
The following awards were issued:
Resident Research Awards - CORE
In Vivo Laser Tissue Welding in the Rabbit Paranasal Sinus
Benjamin S. Bleier, MD, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Virtual Surgical Rehearsal for Pre-op Planning in Frontal Recess Sinus Surgery
Sachin Parikh, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine
New Investigators Award - CORE
Regulatory T Cells in Chronic Rhinosinusitis
Jayant Pinto, MD, The University of Chicago
Congratulations to Drs. Bleier, Parikh, and Pinto for their exemplary efforts.
Another stimulating program is anticipated for the Spring.
|
|
|
|
|
