Live surgical demonstration performed The final day of the second ENT surgical update being held at PGIMER started with a live surgical demonstration of an endoscopic optic nerve fenestration done by Prof Ashok Gupta. Professor Gupta pointed out that benign Intracranial hypertension is an emerging cause for non traumatic visual loss. It is a condition where the pressure inside the brain gets raised without any particular identifiable cause and hence is also called Idiopathic intracranial hypertension. The increased pressure is transmitted on to the optic nerves which causes vision loss. PGI has already performed more than 100 endoscopic optic nerve fenestrations and provided light to the lives of these patients. Prof Ashok Gupta also demonstrated the Endoscopic Orbital decompression of a young female patient with dysthyroid orbitopathy. Dysthyroid orbitopathy is a common condition in our country where the thyroid gland abnormally secrets excess of the hormone called Thyroxin. As a result substances get deposited around the eye ball that it is pushed forward,causing an appearance like the eye ball is about to fall out. The patient can also have visual loss if the optic nerve is also compressed. The treatment for this is to remove one or more of the walls of the orbit so that the contents get space to expand. Earlier the external approaches were morbid and had many complications like scar,diplopia. Now,with the advent of endoscopes,it has become very easy to remove the medial and inferior wall of the orbit and provide immediate relief to the patient. The later part of the conference had a panel discussion on oncology. Oral cavity cancer is the eighth most common cancer worldwide. In India,oral cancer is the most common form of cancer and cancer-related death in men. Tobacco consumed in any form such as smoking (cigarettes,bidis etc),chewing or snuffing is identified as the risk factor for 6 of the 8 leading causes of death here. On an average about 100 new cancer patients are registered in PGIMERs out-patient department every month. Surgical excision of the tumor and the various neck dissections like radical neck dissection,modified radical neck dissection and selective dissection are the various services provided by the department. A panel discussion on the management of Discharging ear by Dr Ranjan Ayer,which is also a very common disease,was held. The causes,work up and management protocols of the ailment were also discussed in this panel discussion. The ENT Surgical Update 2012 then concluded with a valedictory function. Cancer and thyroid can be treated with nuclear medicine A CME on 'Therapeutic Applications of Nuclear Medicine' was inaugurated by Prof Amod Gupta,Dean,PGIMER at the institute. In his welcome address,Prof BR Mittal,head of the department,emphasized the emerging role of nuclear medicine in treatment in addition to the existing importance of imaging. In the first session,Prof Anil Bhansali from Chandigarh,Dr Rajnish Sharma from Delhi and Dr Sandeep Basu from Mumbai discussed the role of nuclear medicine in the management of benign thyroid disorders. Two sessions were devoted to the management of thyroid cancer including surgery,post-operative radioiodine ablation and radiotherapy. These sessions also threw light on diagnostic and treatment dilemmas being faced by doctors. Dr PS Choudhury from the Rajeev Gandhi Cancer Institute,Delhi and Dr SH Khan from Srinagar described new trends in the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer. Dr Pankaj Tandon from AERB,Mumbai,discussed radiation protection issues. This was followed by an interactive panel discussion on thyroid cancers and eminent speakers like Dr BR Mittal from PGIMER, Pinaki Dutta from PGI,Dr Gaurav Aggrawal from SGPGI,Lucknow, Vikram Lele from Mumbai,Dr AR Sharma from Mumbai,Pankaj Dougall from Delhi and Dr PS Choudhury,also from Delhi deliberated on the issues in detail. Prof Atul Sachdeva from GMCH,Chandigarh,spoke on liver cancer while Dr Naveen Kalra from PGI,Dr Vimal Someshwar from Mumbai and Dr. RV Parameswaran from Bangalore discussed novel therapies available for its treatment. A few other topics will be discussed by the eminent faculty in the next days proceedings.
