The first Amrita Craniofacial Surgery Symposium was held at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences from June 19 – 21, 2015. Jointly organized by the departments of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery, Paediatric Neurosurgery and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Amrita, the symposium focused on the comprehensive management of craniofacial deformities. 

The symposium was inaugurated by Dr. Prathapan Nair, Principal, Amrita School of Medicine. Dr. Varghese Mani, renowned Maxillofacial and Facial Cosmetic Surgeon and former President of the Association of Maxillofacial Surgeons of India (AOMSI) & the Indian Society of Facial Plastic Surgery (ISFPRS) and Dr. Wilfred Borstlap, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon from Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands were the guests of honor.

Dr. Subramania Iyer, Professor and Head, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery / Head and Neck Oncology at Amrita stated that even if there were lot of things happening in the country in paediatric craniofacial work, meeting of the minds were missing. “Educationally we all want to improve our knowledge as well as the technique of paediatric craniofacial surgery and that knowledge has to be transferred to the whole country. That was how the idea of this workshop developed,” he added.

As a part of the craniofacial support forum, an information booklet, for the families of patients with craniofacial deformities was released jointly by Dr. Varghese Mani and Dr. Wilfred Borstlap during the inaugural ceremony.

The first two-days of the symposium included scientific lectures, video presentations and live surgery sessions. Eminent faculty from all over the country and abroad practicing in the fields of Craniomaxillofacial surgery, plastic surgery, neurosurgery and allied specialties led the sessions.

Dr. Wilfred Borstlap, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon from Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands spoke on Endoscopic Approaches in the Management of Craniosynostosis and Helmet Moulding in Management of Craniosynostosis. Dr. B. Krishnamurthy, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at Bangalore Maxillofacial Associates presented on History of Cranio-facial Surgery – Bridging Specialties.

Dr. A. K. Singh, Professor & Head of Plastic Surgery, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow discussed the topic Craniofacial deformities – Spectrum, Classification and Clinical Features. Dr. Anil Murarka, Senior Consultant in BLK Centre for Plastic, Reconstructive, Aesthetic, Burns & Craniofacial Surgery at BLK Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi elaborated on the topic, Timing Craniofacial Surgery. Dr. Dilip Panicker, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgery, Aster Medcity, Kochi gave insight into Neurosurgical Considerations in Craniofacial Surgery.

Dr. Nitin Mokal, Craniofacial and Plastic Surgeon from Mumbai presented on Correction of Brachycephaly – Bicoronal Synostosis. Dr. B. Chidambaram, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgery, Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital, Chennai presented on Correction of Sagittal Synostosis and Clinical Aspects of Complex Craniosynostosis. A session on the Management of Meningo-encephalocoeles was led by Dr. Mukund Jagannathan, Plastic and Craniofacial Surgeon from Mumbai.

Lecturer and video presentations on the topics Correction of Multi-sutural Craniosynostosis, Hypertelorism Correction and Distraction Osteogenesis of Calvarium in Craniofacial Deformities were led by Dr. Ramesh K. Sharma, Professor and Head of Plastic Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; Dr. Krishna Shama Rao, Craniofacial Surgeon, MAAYA Foundation Bangalore and Dr. Sherry Peter, Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon, Aster Medcity, Kochi respectively.

Dr. Vikram Shetty, Director of the Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Craniofacial Surgery, Mangalore discussed the topic Midface Distraction in Craniofacial Syndromes. Dr. K. Sridhar, Director (Institute of Craniofacial, Aesthetic & Plastic Surgery), SIMS Hospital, Chennai elaborated on the topic Complications in Craniofacial Surgery. Dr. Srinivas Gosla Reddy, Director, GSR Institute of Craniofacial Surgery, Hyderabad spoke on Management of Rare Oro-facial Clefts.

Faculty from Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences who participated and led the sessions included Dr. Sheela Namboothiri, Professor and Head, Paediatric Genetics; Dr. Pramod Subash, Professor, Craniomaxillofacial Surgery; Dr. Suhas Udayakumaran, Associate Professor, Neurosurgery; Dr. Maria John Kuriakose, Professor, Orthodontic & Dentofacial Orthopaedics; Dr. Sandhya C. J., Associate Professor, Radiology; Dr. Mathew George, Associate Professor, Anaesthesiology; Dr. Natasha Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor, Ophthalmology; and Ms. Smitha V. S., Clinical Psychologist.

The symposium concluded on June 21 with a separate hands-on module for a selected group of participants to impart in-depth training using stereolithographic models with craniofacial deformity.

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Amrita Craniofacial Surgery Symposium 2015