A Clear Voice

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Welcome to our final episode of series one of BLA Connections: A Clear Voice Dr. Paul Bryson chats with Natalie Watson to give his perspective from the U.S. from March 2020 to the 15th of June when we recorded this episode.

Update: Since the time of recording, the USA has witnessed an increase in Covid-19 infection cases with several states experiencing a surge, Dr. Bryson would like to add "Sadly, the impact on otolaryngology services and health care works and the public in general, personal protective equipment, and the overall public health response in other regions of the United States continues to play out and evolve."

In this episode:

2:30 Dr. Bryson's brief overview of his experiences in Cleveland, Ohio.

6:26 Q1. What's your experience with re-starting surgical services?

10:05 Q2. What have been some of the challenges to re-starting?

14:44 Q3. What are you planning for the next steps and what are the lasting impacts of COVID-19 to Laryngology?

24:27 Take-home messages for our listeners

Links to relevant documents

Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) Statement on Resuming Ambulatory Anesthesia Care as Our Nation Recovers from COVID-19 (4/18/2020)

Procedural sedation in the COVID-19 era

Contact Information
Visit www.britishlaryngological.org or download BLA Connect from your app store for further information and details on becoming a BLA member.

Email: [email protected] for any questions or topic suggestions you may have for future episodes.

This show is brought to you by the BLA, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram hosted by Natalie Watson @surgeonsinger produced and directed by Heather Pownall of Heather's Media Hub Ltd and Post-Production by Steven Perrie-Clyde of After 12 Media @After12Media

Contact Information
Visit www.britishlaryngological.org and our podcast library.
Join our waitlist for the 2025 conference at the Royal Society of Medicine London here.

Email: [email protected] for any questions or topic suggestions you may have for future episodes.

This show is brought to you by the BLA; you can follow us on X, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram hosted by Natalie Watson @surgeonsinger, produced and directed by Heather Pownall of Heather's Media Hub Ltd and award-winning producer.
The opinions of our host and guests are their own; The BLA does not endorse any individual viewpoints, given products or companies.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate, review and subscribe with the podcast provider of your choice.

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As we continue to bring you A Clear Voice through lockdown Taran Tatla joins Natalie Watson to discuss and explore the impact of Covid-19 and laryngology. In this episode, we look to the future and talk through the BLA and ENTUK guidelines (endorsed by the RCSLT) a graduated return to elective activities for laryngology within the COVID 19 pandemic.

In this episode

8.22 Q1. The document we are discussing is a LIVE document and is subject to change but can you just give us a brief summary of what the main ENT UK guideline entails?

13:50 Q2. There’s been a lot of discussion about PPE and where’s best to perform outpatient procedures. What are the current recommendations?

19:53 Q3. Now focusing on the laryngology section specifically, (which is available on the BLA website), let’s talk about the main points regarding the surgical priority and activity section. Can you summarise the section?

22:47 Q4. Training has been severely hampered with some being redeployed and operative training grinding down to a halt. There are some really helpful suggestions in the training section and I wondered if you could highlight the key points?

29:34 Take home messages: Communication, Digitial & IT and teamwork, working together for our response...

Links to the documents and audits discussed in this episode:

BLA & ENT UK guidelines (endorsed by RCSLT): A Graduated return to Elective Activities for Laryngology within Covid-19 Pandemic

NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery

ENTUK: COVIDTrach Tracheostomy audit

Respiratory Papillomatosis UK Database

Contact Information
Visit www.britishlaryngological.org or download BLA Connect from your app store for further information and details on becoming a BLA member.

Email: [email protected] for any questions or topic suggestions you may have for future episodes.

This show is brought to you by the BLA, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram hosted by Natalie Watson @surgeonsinger produced and directed by Heather Pownall of Heather's Media Hub Ltd and Post-Production by Steven Perrie-Clyde of Afte

Contact Information
Visit www.britishlaryngological.org and our podcast library.
Join our waitlist for the 2025 conference at the Royal Society of Medicine London here.

Email: [email protected] for any questions or topic suggestions you may have for future episodes.

This show is brought to you by the BLA; you can follow us on X, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram hosted by Natalie Watson @surgeonsinger, produced and directed by Heather Pownall of Heather's Media Hub Ltd and award-winning producer.
The opinions of our host and guests are their own; The BLA does not endorse any individual viewpoints, given products or companies.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate, review and subscribe with the podcast provider of your choice.

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In the final episode of series 4 of BLA Connections: A Clear Voice, host Natalie Watson is joined by Professor Reza Nouraei, Consultant Laryngologist and Tracheal Surgeon at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, to discuss how to oxygenate our patients whilst operating on the larynx under general anaesthetic. Prof Nouraei walks us step-by-step through THRIVE and other tubeless ventilation methods.

“You have all the time in the world to put a scope in, as long as it's less than three minutes.”

This quote from Prof David Howard, a global Laryngology pioneer and a friend and mentor to many UK Laryngologists including Prof Nouraei, was an inspiration to search for methods of increasing apnoea time.

THRIVE is essentially a method of ventilating patients who are under general anaesthesia and under conditions of muscle paralysis (i.e. apnoea), by filling the upper airways with oxygen and by activating a ventilatory exchange process which increases the time to desaturation.

As well as explaining the functions and indications for THRIVE, Prof Nouraei shares his tips and insights for using the procedure successfully, including which patients and conditions might not be suitable for it. We also discuss other ventilation strategies and new airway management tools for further improving them.

To ensure that patients with acutely compromised airways are managed safely, it is vital to understand the anatomy of laryngoscopy and to appreciate how the sharp angle between the lips and the larynx is converted into a straight line. This enables the laryngologist to create safe access corridors for oxygenation and for shared-airway surgery after the patient has been anaesthetised and has been rendered apnoeic.

Apnoeic ventilation has been a major game changer for our specialty, as well, more broadly, for the care of patients with complex and compromised airways whom, as laryngologists, we are regularly called upon to support.

For more expert insight into all things laryngology, please do look back at other episodes in this series, including the management and patient journey of airway stenosis, persistent throat symptoms, and the ageing voice. And if you have a topic you think we should cover next series, do let us know!

*Please note a declaration of interest: Prof. Reza Nouraei declares that he has received research and consultancy support from Fisher and Paykel.

Contact Information
Visit www.britishlaryngological.org or download BLA Connect from your app store for further information and details on becoming a BLA member.

Email: [email protected] for any questions or topic suggestions you may have for future episodes.

This show is brought to you by the

Contact Information
Visit www.britishlaryngological.org and our podcast library.
Join our waitlist for the 2025 conference at the Royal Society of Medicine London here.

Email: [email protected] for any questions or topic suggestions you may have for future episodes.

This show is brought to you by the BLA; you can follow us on X, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram hosted by Natalie Watson @surgeonsinger, produced and directed by Heather Pownall of Heather's Media Hub Ltd and award-winning producer.
The opinions of our host and guests are their own; The BLA does not endorse any individual viewpoints, given products or companies.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate, review and subscribe with the podcast provider of your choice.

In this episode, Natalie chats with the current President and Immediate President of the BLA,  Guri Sandhu and Mark Watson.

Mark Watson FRCS has worked in Doncaster and Bassetlaw since 1992 where he has held a number of leadership posts. He has served as a regional and national representative and lead for many regional and national ENT and head and neck groups and committees. Under his leadership, the BLA has fostered innovation and connectivity, with the development of the BLA Connect app for the 2019 conference which has evolved into a free resource, and the launch of this podcast. Mark shares his most memorable times as President of the association, including the success of the 2019 BLA Connect conference in the face of multiple adversities. And of course, most notably leading the BLA through the Covid-19 pandemic, taking the lead in producing guidelines for its members, in particular, the 2020 BLA Tracheostomy Guideline, updated for the second wave of Covid-19.

Guri Sandhu is a founding member of the BLA and current President of the Laryngology & Rhinology section at the RSM. He is a Consultant Otolaryngologist and Head & Neck Surgeon at Imperial College and The Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospitals in London, as well as an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College and University College London. He is a pioneering laryngologist with a special interest in laryngotracheal stenosis. In 2016 he received the Isshiki award for his outstanding contribution to laryngology. Guri tells us what he hopes to achieve in his presidency, with the key aim of raising the profile of laryngology and firmly establishing it as a discipline in UK ENT, as well as fostering collaboration with other associations and giving a platform to the rising stars in UK laryngology.

The panellists also look to the future of the BLA, including the upcoming virtual Annual Conference on 24 September 2021, with the hope of live courses and meetings running again in 2022. And the important goal of achieving proper recognition for laryngology training is discussed.

More details about the BLA's Annual Conference are available at The VIRTUAL BLA Annual Conference 2021 | BLA (britishlaryngological.org)
 
Contact Information
Visit www.britishlaryngological.org or download BLA Connect from your app store for further information and details on becoming a BLA member.

Email: [email protected] for any questions or topic suggestions you may have for future episodes.

This show is brought to you by the BLA, you can follow us on  Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram hosted by Natalie Watson @surgeonsinger produced and directed by Heather Pownall of Heather's Media Hub Ltd.