The Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) was bustling with activity as 23 fellows from 10 countries gathered in October for the Otology Fellows Congress and Advanced Course in Ear & Skull Base Surgery.
This was the sixth time the UAMS Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hosted the three-day event.
It provided an opportunity to learn advanced otology skills through hands-on experience in the temporal bone lab, which has 12 stations each for ear surgery and skull-base surgery, and included lectures taught by international leaders in their respective areas of expertise.
John Dornhoffer, M.D., professor and chair of the UAMS Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, is a co-chair of the Congress. He is an international expert in chronic ear conditions and has performed hundreds of corrective procedures for patients with audiological deficits, including cochlear implants and bone-anchored hearing aid placement.
“This course brings together people who are going to change the future for patients all over the world,” he said. “The hope is not only to train them but also to establish networking opportunities and collaborations so we can make the treatment of ear conditions and the advancement of science an international effort.”
“The facility here is large and well-equipped,” said Michael Gluth, M.D., another of the event chairs, referring to the institute’s state-of-the-art Yasargil Surgical Skills Laboratory and Education Center, and noting that the tools and learning experiences available at UAMS provide unique opportunities for the fellows. A former otolaryngologist at UAMS, Gluth is a professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine in Chicago, where he also directs the Comprehensive Ear and Hearing Center.
Brandon Isaacson, M.D., and J. Walter Kutz, Jr., M.D., both professors in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, are the other chairs of this event, participating since its inception in 2016.
This year, the fellows included both experienced practitioners and otolaryngologists relatively new to the profession. All were there specifically to receive training about the subspecialty focused on the anatomy and diseases of the ear. Ears and heads from cadavers donated to medical science were available to provide hands-on experiences.
Nathan Craber, an Australian who attended the course from England, sat in front of a monitor that showed, in real time, the inside of a human ear as he shined a light inside it and used tools to explore it. Craber said he attended “for the experiences and to use these resources in the lab.”
Katie Keathley, a neuro-otology fellow from the University of Minnesota said she sought out the training because of UAMS’ excellent reputation.
Next to her, Rance Fujiwara, a neuro-otology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, agreed that the hands-on experience was invaluable for increasing his knowledge about the sub-specialty.
The course is free, thanks to donations from industry sources.
Susan D. Emmett, M.D., an otolaryngologist who is an associate professor of otolaryngology and public health at UAMS and the founder and director of the UAMS Center for Hearing Health Equity, was one of the guest instructors. She develops evidenced-based solutions to address preventable hearing loss and applies digital innovations to increase access to care for remote communities.
Other guest instructors included Calhoun Cunningham, M.D., a faculty member in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences at Duke University Medical Center in Raleigh, North Carolina; Richard Gurgel, M.D., chief of otology and director of the cochlear implant program at the University of Utah; Candace Hobson, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Emory University in Atlanta; Joachim Muller, M.D., an associate professor of otology in Munich, Germany; and Michael Seidman, M.D., a professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Central Florida.