Medics from across UK descend on Doncaster for surgery class using plastic heads

Doncaster Royal Infirmary played host to the third Ear Nose and Throat event, with participants using 3-D printed ‘cadaver heads’ as part of the training and dissection course.

The two day event welcomed delegates from all over the UK to experience the innovative training programme.

They were generously supported by senior ENT consultants who came from different parts of England and contributed their time over the weekend.

Ear, nose and throat – also known as ENT - surgeons diagnose, evaluate and manage diseases of the head and neck.

The free course, offered by ENT Masterclass, a multimedia training platform in otolaryngology – a surgical subspecialty that treats conditions related to the head and neck - gave attendees the chance to practice operating on 3D printed heads.

The programme allowed them to perform both nose and ear operations on these heads using all the equipment that they would need to complete the procedures on a real patient, such as drills and microscopes.

The first ever masterclass of this kind was held at Doncaster Royal Infirmary in April 2021, and was a resounding success.

Mr Muhammed Shahed Quraishi, a consultant Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon at DBTH, and Director of ENT Masterclass said: “During the COVID crisis, which is of course still ongoing, a lot of theatre lists were cancelled and theatre opportunities were subsequently reduced, which has caused the trainees in the UK and all over the world to suffer from lack of hands-on training. In a manner of speaking, unless you cut, you don’t learn, so this course, which we run under ENT Masterclass at Doncaster Royal Infirmary twice a year, is a way of supplementing the practical training for surgeons.”

“This free surgical training resource is very popular, with the April event being oversubscribed by 500%, and as a result we had to select delegates on the basis of their CV and needs for training, almost like a job interview. We screen the CV’s, work out what is appropriate for them, and then offer them a place.”