Specialty
Ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery / facial plastic surgery

Educational technique
Annual three-day facial plastic surgery event

Details
Initially established as a means of increasing access to relevant facial plastic surgery training, this annual three-day course is aimed at postgraduates interested in facial plastic surgery. It consists of lectures, live patient demonstrations, video demonstrations, and a half-day practical session using sample tissue to demonstrate use of local skin flaps to reconstruct defects.

The three-day course is divided into three parts. The first day concentrates on non-surgical aspects of facial rejuvenation. Use of botulinum toxin, dermal fillers and therapeutic lasers are described and demonstrated where possible.

The second day is dedicated to rhinoplasty surgery. This is delivered mainly through lectures and video demonstration of operative procedures.

The third day is on facial skin flaps in the morning, followed by a practical session in the afternoon in a clinical skills laboratory.

Attendees range from junior registrars to consultant grade surgeons. The faculty consists of around 12 experts from the fields of dermatology, aesthetic medicine, ENT surgery, plastic surgery, oculo-plastic surgery and maxillo-facial surgery and the course contents fulfils the syllabus requirements for the facial plastic surgery component of the FRCS examination in ENT.

This course primarily benefits trainees, which ultimately translates to better patient care.