July 11, 2011
School of Medicine, Kochi
 

The Amrita faculty is increasingly contributing to significant international exchanges with professional bodies from upcoming nations.
 

As countries like Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Russia and South Africa continue to advance, a multi-polar world of science and technology is emerging, which is slowly replacing the tri-polar scientific world previously anchored in the United States, Europe and Japan.
 

Countries which were hitherto at the receiving end of scientific exchange programs have started to contribute, sharing technological advances from their best institutions.
 

As such, Amrita research scholars are frequently participating in international conferences at locations, which only a few years ago, would have been considered exotic.
 

A team of six doctors from the Amrita School of Medicine contributed greatly to the success of the recently concluded Second International Biannual Meeting of the Eurasian Head and Neck Society, organized under the umbrella of the Eurasian Forum of Oncology (EAFO) at Almaty, Kazakhstan.
 

Of the 300 delegates who attended, 21 were from India.
 

“EAFO is headquartered in Moscow and comprises national representatives of various countries from erstwhile Soviet Union, Eastern and Central Europe and Asia,” explained Dr. Subramania Iyer, Professor and Head of the Amrita Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology.
 

At the event, Dr. Iyer was nominated to become the next EAFO president, taking over the reins from former president Prof. Fausto Chiesa, Italy. Dr. Iyer will preside during a two-year term.
 

At the conference, Dr. Iyer delivered the Vadim Demidov Memorial Lecture, speaking on advances in surgery for skull base tumors and the role of reconstruction. The lecture detailed various reconstructive options classified as per each patient’s needs, and was derived from the doctor’s extensive experience at Amrita.
 

Dr. Parasuram from Amrita’s Department of Neurosurgery delivered a guest lecture titled Management of Skull Base Malignancies – A Neurosurgeon’s Perspective.
 

Outlining preventable causes of morbidity and mortality, Dr. Parasuram emphasized the importance of teamwork in the management of complex skull base malignancies.
 

“These complicated cases require the expertise of specialties like head and neck surgery, neurosurgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, physical medicine as well as critical care medicine,” he said.
 

Four more experts from Amrita shared their knowledge, delivering speeches and presenting papers.
 

Dr Jayakumar Menon, in charge of Amrita’s swallowing therapy service, delivered the keynote address on swallowing rehabilitation in head and neck cancer patients.
 

Dr. Hiran, Associate Professor of Pathology was a key resource person in the Head and Neck Pathology Forum of the meeting.
 

Dr Ishwar Singh and Dr Surij Salih, Amrita’s erstwhile trainees presented scientific papers.
 

“Delegates at the conference were impressed by the Amrita teamwork,” summed up Dr. Parasuram. “Some of the budding Head and Neck and ENT surgeons from Russia and neighboring states like Uzbekistan and Belarus were astonished by the low cost and quality medical care provided at Amrita for complex tumors and were therefore keen to visit Amrita. We received many enquiries for our fellowship programs.”