History

4th International Course in the Endoscopic Sinus Surgery, Kajetany, June 9 – 11, 2011

In the International Center of Hearing and Speech in Kajetany for three years already have been organized international training courses in the endoscopic surgery of sinuses. In 2001, for the first time, the course has been accompanied by the international scientific conference, at which the participants could present their own research.

The honorary guest of this years’ course was Prof. Peter John Wormald from Adelaide in Australia, one of the fathers of modern rhinosurgery, the author of one of best and most popular books on the endoscopic surgery of paranasal sinuses: ‘Endoscopic Sinus Surgery – Anatomy, Three-Dimensional Reconstruction and Surgical Technique’.

In the International Conference of the Endoscopic Paranasal Sinus Surgery on June 9th participated doctors from Poland and other countries, including Italy, Malta, Romania, Sweden and Bulgaria. The scientific program included invited lectures of the eminent Polish scientists as well as oral and poster presentations prepared by the participants of the conference.

First invited lecture was presented by Prof. Mieczysław Chmielik on medical and surgical treatment of sinusitis in children. Next lecturer, Prof. Bolesław Samoliński, addressed the problem of the allergic rhinitis which concerns steadily growing number of patients. Then Prof. Paweł Stręk presented two lectures: on fungal infections in sinusitis and on the surgical anatomy of the paranasal sinuses. Prof. Hubert Waynura gave a lecture on the facial skeleton fractures, reviewing procedures in individual types of fractures. Particularly interesting was the lecture of the microbiologist, Prof. Elżbieta Trafny, on the role of biofilms in persistent and recurring infections of upper airways. Next dr Elżbieta Szwejda reviewed the radiological anatomy of paranasal sinuses, a topic particularly important in preparing for the endoscopic surgery of this region.

During the following two days, on June 10 and 11, took place the fourth edition of the international course of the endoscopic sinus surgery. The lecturers, besides the guest of honor, Prof. P.J. Wormald, were the distinguished experts in this field: Prof. Timoleon Terzis from Greece, Prof. Matteo Trimarchi from Italy and Prof. Bożena Wrobel from the USA.

Traditionally, the first day of the course was dedicated to the theory and the second day to the practical training with demonstrations of surgical techniques and hands-on training on specimens.

The theoretical part of training involved the lectures on the wide range of topics related to the endoscopic sinus surgery: pathomechanisms and classification of the chronic sinusitis, treatment, indications for endoscopic surgery and detailed presentations of endoscopic approaches to different elements of anatomy. Very interesting and valuable for the attendees were the lectures during which the rhinologists with many years of practical experience in sinus surgery shared their observations about the pre- and postoperative management and analyzed the causes of failures in the endoscopic surgery of the nose and paranasal sinuses. The most spectacular and far-reaching topic addressed during the course was the surgery of the anterior cranial fossa, that is the endoscopic approach to the pituitary and clivus, presented and demonstrated in praxis on the head specimen by Prof. P.J. Wormald.

The second day of the course was dedicated to the practical training. A group of the participants had an opportunity to individually perform all presented procedures on fresh-frozen head specimens. Twenty-two persons trained at 11 working stations, using the most modern endoscopic devices. At the same time these attendees who did not participate in the hands-on training could observe the demonstrations of the presented endoscopic techniques and procedures performed by the instructors.

Both the conference and the course maintained a high educational and organizational level and provided the attendees with a lot of valuable information on the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the modern rhinosurgery. For the young doctors particularly beneficial was the opportunity to perform individually surgical procedures in the area of nasal septum and sinuses under the guidance of experienced surgeons.