ANNUAL OTOLOGY CONFERENCE – ISOCON 2013 BENGALURU

The annual otology conference is one of the best conferences organised by the ENT fraternity in India.  It is a much awaited event and one of the well attended conferences. This  time it was held at Bangalore, Karnataka,  from November 8th 2013 to November 10 2013.  Bangalore being a major hub in  the  south,  attracted well over 800 delegates.  The event was organized at the NIMHANS convention  centre, which was well located, spacious, with comfortable seating and good air conditioning.  The organizers had done a good job.  The entire conference was managed by an  event management company.  Bar coding of delegate badges ensured that nobody gate crashed into the dining area and also for the entertainement events in the  evening.  

The focus of this conference was Transcanal endoscopic approach to the ear.  This approach was showcased by two surgeons from Italy.  Dr.Livio Presutti,  from Modena Italy and his contemporary Dr. Marchioni Daniele, also working in the same hospital.  Dr. Presutti’s presentation “ Physiological basis and principles of the Transcanal endoscopic approach to the ear” was excellent. 

His other lecture “Endoscopic procedures in Otoneurosurgery” was also an eye opener to the way of using angled endoscopes to reach those areas which cannot be reached with an operating microscope.  Dr.  Marchioni Daniele’s talk “Exclusive endoscopic approach to cholesteatoma” was also excellent.  He highlighted the use of angled endoscopes to eradicate cholesteatoma in the sinus tympani and the epitympanic regions.  This was followed the next day by live endoscopic cadaveric dissection, where we had a chance to learn the minute surgical anatomy of the middle ear.  They then performed live endoscopic Myringoplasty, tympanoplasty, and surgery for cholesteatoma.  The images were excellent.  The only drawback to this approach is that only one hand can be used for surgical manipulation since the other hand is used to hold the endoscope.  Hence, the operating field has to be bloodless, since suction cannot be used simultaneously like when operating under the operating microscope.  The cholesteatoma surgery performed by Dr. Marchioni was really outstanding.  He followed the cholesteatoma right back to the mastoid antrum.  The use of cartilage for reconstruction too was done perfectly.  Dr. Presutti also demonstrated great skill in decompressing  the tympanic segment of the facial nerve in a case of temporal bone fracture following trauma.  I think that these surgeons have ushered in the era of Endoscopic Otology in  India. 

Dr. Bethold Langguth, a psychiatrist from the University of Regensburg, Germany is the chairman of the executive board of the tinnitus research initiative.  He is part of the interdisciplinary tinnitus clinic in Regensburg.  He spoke on the Diagnosis and therapeutic management of tinnitus.  It was interesting to note that tinnitus involved even non-auditory brain areas and the relevance of the memory mechanisms in persistent tinnitus with its associated distress.

Of course our Indian colleagues like Dr. Vijendra and Dr. Mahadeviah too demonstrated some very interesting live surgery.  

Like in the American Academy meetings, for the first time, there were instructional courses between 8 and 10 in the mornings.  Dr. P.G. Visvanathan shared his experiences on cartilage tympanoplasty in this forum, which was well attended and which benefited us immensely.

Of course the entertainment in  the evening matched the academic sessions.  The world renowned percussionist Sivamani, entertained us on the first day followed  by live musical show by S.P. Balasubramaniam.

Hats off to Dr. Vijendra and his team for putting up such  a good show.  It was a pleasant experience at Bangalore.  Looking forward to the Chennai conference.  I am  sure that Dr.Ravi and his team will do a fine job there too.