I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and has the opportunity to travel and spend time with friends and family. I recently traveled with my daughter and her friend in Europe. Seeing them experience so many new things in a short period of time reminded me of the importance of experiencing different cultures, navigating new cities, exploring the local markets, and learning the nuances of daily life in new places.
Explore This Issue
August 2024Having the opportunity to live abroad in Japan when I was growing up made it very important to me that my kids travel and are exposed to different ways of doing things. That goal was delayed by COVID-19, making the ability to travel today even more special. Travel suffered during COVID-19, and many embraced this opportunity to switch to virtual international conferences, allowing us to present without leaving our houses.
A colleague of mine, Dr. Miguel Goncalves Ferreira, a rhinoplasty surgeon in Portugal, brought together the international rhinoplasty community during COVID-19 in a way that continues to meaningfully connect us. In August 2020, he created the Evidence-Based Rhinoplasty Research Group (EBRRG) to provide a forum for discussion of high-quality manuscripts by members of our field to increase the quality of care patients receive. Four years later, the group is still very engaged and has more than 1,600 members. He started by recruiting the board of directors from our international community of journal editors and senior rhinoplasty surgeons. The idea was to share evidence-based rhinoplasty articles with surgeons around the globe by having a board member summarize an article and provide their thoughts, then other members would discuss it. The board members also developed polling questions to submit to all EBRRG members. A tremendous amount of knowledge about international practice patterns has come from the answers to the polling questions, and this provides a real-time assessment of practice trends. One of the unique aspects of rhinoplasty is that the techniques used may vary regionally based on patient goals, skin thickness, and underlying anatomy. This group has provided a platform to share best practices and to understand why some surgeons tackle a nose differently from their colleagues in other parts of the world.
This month celebrates the fourth anniversary of the EBRRG., and the discussions remain robust and respectful. It is a place where anyone who performs rhinoplasty can reach out to cite exciting new research, ask a question, and learn from our global community. I certainly reach out with difficult questions, and it is amazing how quickly I can get a response and how willing surgeons are to share what they know. I hope other subspecialties in otolaryngology are as easily able to connect. Our field is strengthened by the cross-pollination of ideas and a forum in which individuals feel comfortable asking questions and offering responses.
These ideas of collaboration and sharing best practices beyond borders led the Triological Society to open its membership to international otolaryngologists.
Enjoy the rest of the summer; I look forward to reconnecting in person at the fall meetings.
—Robin