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RESIDENT PAGE |
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Year : 2014 | Volume
: 30
| Issue : 2 | Page : 182 |
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The making of an endoscopic sinus surgeon: Place yourself at the feet of the greats
Ahmed H Monib
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut, Egypt
Date of Submission | 18-Nov-2014 |
Date of Acceptance | 22-Nov-2014 |
Date of Web Publication | 27-May-2014 |
Correspondence Address: Ahmed H Monib Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut, 71516 Egypt
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1012-5574.133226
If you wish to be an an endoscopic sinus surgeon, search for the greats, whose papers you have read, and place yourself at their feet. You may face a lot of bureaucracy, and you may leave your family, staying away of your home, but nothing should change your decision, if you are insisting to learn. Keywords: Endoscopic sinus surgery, Professor Dr. Howard House, Kasr El-Aini Hospita
How to cite this article: Monib AH. The making of an endoscopic sinus surgeon: Place yourself at the feet of the greats. Egypt J Otolaryngol 2014;30:182 |
During my residency, I was very interested in endoscopic sinus surgery. However, I found myself looking to what is beyond the basic endoscopic sinus surgery. I was dreaming of advanced endoscopic sinus surgery. Unfortunately, this subspecialty is not well established in our home department.
I am very convinced in what was told to Professor Dr. Howard House, the 'Father of Neurotology', by his father Dr. House, after he had finished his specialty training, 'Now is the best time to place yourself at the feet of the greats, whose papers you have read. Watch them in surgery and in laboratory, see how compassionate they are with their patients, see how their family lives are, learn their motivations, and find out why they are at the top of the ladder', and added 'Regardless of whom you visit you will pick up pearls of wisdom. Some you will use, some you will not. But you will be in a better position to care for your own patients' [1].
I could not arrange for an international visit; the conditions in Egypt were not settled after the revolution on 25 January 2011. Hence, I decided to start a local visit to Otorhinolaryngology Department, Kasr El-Aini Hospital, Cairo University, Egypt.
Although I faced a lot of bureaucracy, I had to leave my family, and I knew that my income would be markedly reduced during the visit, nothing could change my decision. I was insisting to learn.
I was lucky enough to have the chance to become closely attached to professors of Otorhinolaryngology Department, Kasr El-Aini Hospital. They have appreciated my strong desire to learn and have played a pivotal role that has changed my career.
After 1-year visit to this respected institute, we could establish endonasal endoscopic cerebrospinal fluid leak closure, endoscopic management of recurrent severe epistaxis, endoscopic orbital decompression, endoscopic management of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma, and endoscopic management of sinonasal malignancies in our home department, and we are trying to establish endonasal endoscopic trans-sphenoidal surgery.
I am now trying to arrange for an international visit, aiming to gain more experience on extended endonasal endoscopic skull base surgery.
In conclusion, in my own opinion, the first step in the making of an endoscopic sinus surgeon is 'Place yourself at the feet of the greats'.
Acknowledgements | | |
Conflicts of interest
None declared.
References | | |
1. | HP House. The making of an otologist [OTO review]. House Ear Institute;1980 and 1982 |
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