AEC 4.4 Summary

The latest course in the BAPRAS Advanced Educational Course Series focused on head and neck cancer and facial palsy and took part in Manchester from 7-8 October 2019. The course was very well attended with a mixture of UK-based trainees, consultants and international delegates.  The AEC was organised by Stephen Morley, Omar Ahmed and Bill Townley under direction from Dean Boyce, Chair of Education & Training. 

The first day covered major topics in head and neck cancer through a combination of lectures, small group discussions and mock MDTs. We were privileged to have two outstanding international speakers as well as an expert UK panel providing a very rich and engaging learning experience for delegates. Dr. Frederick Menick (Tuscon, Arizona) gave a fantastic masterclass on complex nasal reconstruction as well as leading small group interactive sessions. Dr. Frederic Kolb (Gustave-Roussy, Paris), a pioneer of scapula tip flaps, shared his vast experience with the very challenging parts of head and neck cancer – maxillary and anterior skullbase reconstruction. The mock MDT and breakout sessions were a real success.

The second day focused on facial palsy. Again, we were fortunate to have a very engaging and representative field of specialists including physiotherpaists, surgeons and even a patient to give an authentic account of the topic. We welcomed the third Fred in our series (by coincidence) - Professor Federico Biglioli, sharing his great experience with modern techniques in reanimation including the dual innervation of free flaps. Again, we were keen to make the sessions as interactive as possible especially given the weight of the material and breakout small group discussions featured highly in the schedule. We were also keen to enlighten the delegates in some of the more challenging yet common aspects of facial palsy that are often neglected – management of partial palsies, reinnervation, treatment of synkinesis.