Debating Uncertainty
The Great Debates series stirs robust discussions.
There are two sides in every debate, and that’s exactly what AAO-HNSF’s Annual Meeting will offer during its Great Debates in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery series. Meeting organizers expect a robust discussion for each of 12 topics presented throughout the Annual Meeting, promising to fire up your imagination and inspire you in your practice of medicine.
Cecelia Damask, DO, educational innovation strategic team leader for the Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) said the AMPC describes the series as a “collective focus and deliberation with prominent thought leaders.” Now in its second year, the series is designed to identify contentious issues deserving of that collective focus and deliberation, with moderators pushing these discussions forward via structured debate.
“There are so many wonderful topics being debated at this year's Annual Meeting,” Dr. Damask said. “Physicians in general seek concrete facts and sharply delineated categories, such as positive and negative or true and false. Unfortunately, medicine is more nuance-driven and is ambiguous. Understanding this is particularly important for otolaryngologists because of the complexity of our specialty.”
The large, heterogenous specialty of otolaryngology encompasses many areas and topics that are heavily debated and remain controversial. Although physicians place a high value on certainty, she said, that “the Great Debates allow speakers and attendees to explore the uncertainty that may always exist in medicine.”
For example, Dr Damask said, “Sometimes a direct causality between a treatment and an outcome cannot be proven or the extent of a surgery necessary for a patient to remain disease-free is not known” thus, remaining controversial and up for debate.
The 12 debates will span an array of interests, from rhinology/allergy and sleep medicine to the business of medicine/practice management and patient safety/quality improvement.
“Some debates are long-standing controversies like radiation versus surgery as a primary cure for a cancer patient,” Dr. Damask said. “With the advent of newer surgical techniques, some debates are around the extent of surgery needed. Other controversies being explored are changes in healthcare like the increasing role of APPs in otolaryngology or adding other medical specialty providers to an otolaryngology practice or where is the optimal location to perform a surgery.”
The goal of the Great Debates, she said, is to share expert opinions with attendees on topics that don’t have an obvious answer for many of the conundrums in otolaryngology. Attendees will be presented with evidence as well as opinions from both sides of a particular debate and must decide for themselves which approach they will ultimately take in their individual respective practices with their own patients.
“We will continue to face a healthcare environment that is uncertain and continually evolving,” she said. “Hopefully attendees will walk away from the Great Debates inspired to want to stay up-to-date about future advances in our specialty.”
Otology/Neurotology
MÉNIÈRE’S DISEASE: MEDICAL VS. SURGICAL MANAGEMENT
September 11 | 9:15 – 10:15 am (ET)
Moderators: Meredith E. Adams, MD, MS, and Gregory J. Basura, MD, PhD
Debate Speaker #1: Steven D. Rauch, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Jay T. Rubinstein, MD, PhD
MAXIMALIST VS. MINIMALIST APPROACH TO SINUS SURGERY: WHAT’S BETTER?
September 11 | 2:15 – 3:15 pm (ET)
Moderator: Sarah K. Wise, MD, MSCR
Debate Speaker #1: Devyani Lal, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Troy D. Woodard, MD
THE ROLE OF APPS IN YOUR PRACTICE: TEAMMATE OR FREE AGENT?
September 11 | 2:15 – 3:15 pm (ET)
Moderator: Michael J. Brenner, MD |
Debate Speaker #1: Gavin Setzen, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Kristi S. Gidley, PA-C, MSHA
Debate Speaker #3: Elisabeth D.H. Ference, MD, MPH
Debate Speaker #4: Wendy Mackey, APRN-BC, MSN, CORLN
TO CLIP OR TO NOT CLIP: THAT IS THE TONGUE TIE QUESTION
September 11 | 2:15 – 3:15 pm (ET)
Moderator: Sanjay R. Parikh, MD
Debate Speaker #1: Anna H. Messner, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Nikhila P. Raol, MD, MPH
ALLERGY IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY: DIY OR HIRE AN OUTSIDE AGENT?
September 12 | 10:45 – 11:45 am (ET)
Moderator: Dole Baker, MD, and Cecelia Damask, DO
Debate Speaker #1: Douglas D. Reh, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Gavin Setzen, MD
CONTROVERSIES IN FACIAL REANIMATION
September 12 | 10:45 – 11:45 am (ET)
Moderators: Teresa M. O, MD, and Linda N. Lee, MD
Debate Speaker #1: Tessa Hadlock, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Kofi Boahene, MD
DOES SURGICAL VOLUME MATTER? A PRO-CON DEBATE
September 12 | 10:45 – 11:45 am (ET)
Moderator: Sujana S. Chandrasekhar, MD
Debate Speaker #1: Richard W. Waguespack, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Amy Chen, MD, MPH
Debate Speaker #3: Catherine K. Hart, MD
Debate Speaker #4: Soham Roy, MD, MMM
WHERE WOULD YOU DO YOUR NEXT SINUS SURGERY: IN-OFFICE VS. SURGERY CENTER
September 12 | 3:45 – 4:45 Pm (ET)
Moderator: William R. Blythe, MD
Debate Speaker #1: Bradford A. Woodworth, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Marc G. Dubin, MD
RADIATION VS. ENDOSCOPIC MANAGEMENT OF EARLY GLOTTIC CANCER
September 13 | 10:45 – 11:45 am (ET)
Moderator: D. Gregory Farwell, MD
Debate Speaker #1: Nancy Lee, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Michael L. Hinni, MD
RADIO FREQUENCY ABLATION OF THYROID NODULES: IS THYROID SURGERY BECOMING OBSOLETE?
September 13 | 10:45 – 11:45 am (ET)
Moderator: Joseph Scharpf, MD
Debate Speaker #1: Lisa A. Orloff, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Michael C. Singer, MD
SHOULD ADENOTONSILLECTOMY BE THE FIRST-LINE TREATMENT FOR ALL PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH MILD OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA?
September 13 | 10:45 – 11:45 am (ET) |
Moderator: Nikhila P. Raol, MD, MPH |
Debate Speaker #1: Derek J. Lam, MD, MPH
Debate Speaker #2: Stacey L. Ishman, MD, MPH
KTP ABLATION VS. EN BLOC CO2 RESECTION OF EARLY GLOTTIC CANCER
September 13 | 1:00 – 2:00 pm (ET)
Moderator: Jeanne L. Hatcher, MD
Debate Speaker #1: James A. Burns, MD
Debate Speaker #2: Andrew J. McWhorter, MD
