ENT Medicine – Otorhinolaryngology
Otorhinolaryngology or head and neck medicine includes ENT medicine and deals with a wide range of diseases and disorders of the ear, nose, and throat area. These include cancer of the head and neck, nose and sinus mal-conditions, hearing disorders, speech, voice, and swallowing problems. The otorhinolaryngologist also performs reconstructive and aesthetic facial surgery.
Modern Otorhinolaryngology departments or clinics face a tremendous challenge in terms of state-of-the-art equipment. Since operations are performed close to the carotid artery, optic nerve and/or the brain itself, sophisticated image-guided surgical systems for surgery where precision is absolutely critical, are a necessity for any hospital. Endoscopic applications are used in the most frequently performed surgical interventions. These include advanced techniques for endoscopic sinus surgery, covering sinusitis, nasal polyps, nasal and sinus tumours, 3-dimensional computer-assisted endoscopic sinus surgery, endoscopic closure of cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) leaks, endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR), endoscopic approach to the pituitary gland, and other endoscopic approaches to the anterior skull base.
Laser procedures such as laser stapedectomy, laser assisted uvulo-pharyngoplasty (LAUP), laser ablation of benign tumours in the oral cavity and the oropharynx, laser assisted microsurgery of the larynx and many others became increasingly common during the nineties.
Radiofrequency systems have also been successfully introduced for the minimally invasive treatment of snoring, obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS), other nasal obstructions, and voice disorders.
The equipment necessary for minimally invasive and outpatient ENT treatment is faced by growing market demand as a result of the current trend to changes in global healthcare systems with a view to reducing cost-intensive hospitalization and off-work periods for the patient.
Otorhinolaryngology is a broad field of medicine, demanding a finely chiselled and attractive marketing approach for medical products incorporating the increasingly high-tech requirements.
