There’s no substitute for hands-on experience when it comes to learning. Since 2014, the Duke Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences has offered a comprehensive sinus and skull base dissection course for residents and fellows to address the need for focused training in endoscopic surgery.
"The course is critical for learning basic and complex anatomy and the fundamentals of endoscopic techniques,” David Jang, MD, the creator of the course, said.
The course takes place over two days:
- The first day is dedicated to endoscopic sinus and skull base surgery.
- During the second day, residents and faculty go through open dissections of the head and neck.
Junior residents focus on mastering the fundamentals, including basic anatomy and introductory endoscopic techniques.
Senior residents advance to more complex topics, exploring intricate endoscopic anatomy and learning specialized techniques critical to their progression as surgeons.
Residents find the course incredibly helpful and provide positive feedback each year.
“We not only get a chance to see and practice advanced techniques, we benefit from seeing how involved alumni from this program are in contributing to our current education as many serve as guest lecturers for this course each year,” said Debbie Pan, MD, a PGY-5 resident.
An International and Collaborative Learning Experience
The sinus dissection course includes faculty members from across the globe. Each year, the course invites national and international experts to provide their insights, bringing fresh perspectives to the curriculum.
This year, participants benefited from the expertise of Dr. Zoukaa Sargi, a renowned skull base surgeon from the University of Miami, as well as Dr. Dohyun Kim and Dr. Yeonhee Joo, esteemed rhinologists from South Korea.
Former fellows also return to Duke to serve as faculty, which fosters a sense of continuity and mentorship within the program and also provides current residents with valuable insight from those who have recently navigated similar challenges.
“It has been an overwhelmingly positive experience to get to learn from and stay connected to our mentors. We are also thankful for the opportunity to meet esteemed faculty from other institutions and share and exchange surgical knowledge,” Dr. Pan said.
In 2024, the event was supported by eight industry partners and generous backing from the department.