February 16, 2011
School of Medicine, Kochi
 

The seventh Amrita Head and Neck Oncology teaching program (AHEAD – 2011) was conducted at Amrita’s Health Sciences campus during February 4-6, 2011.
 

Organized by Amrita’s Head and Neck Institute in association with the Foundation for Head and Neck Oncology – India, this CME (Continuing Medical Education) program attracted around 100 delegates from all around the country.
 

This annual event is now seen as a major platform for disseminating the latest medical information on abnormalities and diseases of the head and neck region, particularly tumors.
 

“This annual teaching program is specially meant for postgraduate trainees from various clinical disciplines such as ENT, surgical oncology, maxillofacial surgery, radiation and medical oncology,” stated the organizers.
 

The three program days saw didactic short lectures on topics such as the management of paranasal sinus tumors, anterior skull base neoplasms, advanced carcinoma of the larynx, thyroid carcinoma, oropharyngeal carcinoma and diagnosis and management of salivary gland tumors.
 

Distinguished speakers and faculty from all over the country, in addition to the Amrita faculty delivered these lectures.
 

These included Dr. Anil D’ Cruz from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Dr. Nampoothiri from Medical College, Calicut, Dr. Moni Abraham Kuriakose from Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore, Dr. P. Arun from Tata Medical Center Cancer Hospital, Kolkata.
 

Together with the Amrita faculty, they represented the most experienced head and neck surgeons from around the country.
 

Speaking on thyroid cancers, one of the speakers noted that its management should be based on patient-related and tumor-related variables such as patient age, tumor size and extent, distant metastasis, completeness of resections, local invasion and grade of tumor cells.
 

Significant topics elaborated upon in other lectures included prosthetic rehabilitative measures in head and neck, voice rehabilitation following laryngectomy, anesthesia in head and neck surgery, role of nuclear medicine in management of thyroid tumors and significance of plastic surgery in head and neck reconstruction.
 

Live surgical demonstrations of parotidectomy, thyroidectomy, laryngectomy, neck dissection and maxillectomy followed.
 

“We are happy to see that our efforts were well-received,” finally stated the organizers. “The AHEAD series is now seen as a platform to benefit many budding young specialists.”