The department has facilities for treating a wide variety of disorders. It acts as a referral centre for patients living in areas extending form Goa in the north to Cochin in the south. In addition, we have patients coming from overseas to utilise our facilities. These patients come from South Africa, Nepal, Middle East and Malaysia.

Outpatient department

The outpatient department is quite busy and caters to the needs of around 100 patients daily. There is a procedure room attached to the outpatient department which is equipped with two microscopes, which can be used for diagnostic and office procedures in Otology. Also available, are Karl Storz rigid nasal endoscopes for diagnostic nasal endoscopies and flexible and rigid laryngoscopes for visualising diseases of the throat. A full- fledged Allergy clinic is functional in the outpatient department for diagnostic purpose as well as in the treatment of allergies by desensitisation. A temporal bone experimental laboratory is also attached to the department with facilities for carrying out microsurgical dissection of the temporal bone with the help of a microscope. This allows sufficient skills to be developed by the postgraduate students before they attempt surgery on patients.

Surgical Procedures

The department has two fully equipped operation theatres, which are utilised daily. Facilities for microsurgery of the ear, with the help of two of the latest Zeiss microscopes, are available. Otologic procedures carried out vary from myringotomy and grommet insertion to Stapedotomy, Tympanoplasty Endolymphatic Sac decompression and Cochlear implant. Nasal endoscopes are available in the operation theatre to carry out sinus surgery. We have expertise in the field of Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (ESS), as we started our programme in 1991 and have one of the largest series of Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in India. Other nasal procedures include repair of CSF rhinorrhoea and endoscopic removal of nasal angiofibroma in addition to the routine endoscopic sinus surgery. We perform a wide variety of head and neck surgeries. These include; Parotid surgery, Laryngectomy and Laryngo-Pharyngo-Oesophagectomy with Gastric pull up. We also have one of the largest series of skull base surgery in India. For restoration of the voice in post-laryngectomy patients, we have developed an HRA (Hazarika, Rajashekar, Ajith) Voice prosthesis. This is an Indian alternative to foreign prosthesis which has significantly brought down the cost. With the advent of the new millennium, our surgical procedures underwent a transformation with the KTP 532 LASER. It is a multipurpose laser which has brought down the morbidity of various surgical procedures like turbinoplasty and nasal polypectomy and enhanced the precision of surgeries such as stapedotomy.

Cochlear Implant Programme

This department was the first in India to start a Cochlear implant programme in 1995 with a 22 Channel Cochlear implant electrode. Recently, we held a temporal bone dissection and live surgery workshop where three Cochlear implant procedures were carried out within a span of two days. This programme has transformed and improved the quality of lives of people with profound sensorineural hearing loss.

Audiology: An Audiology and Speech therapy unit is attached to the department. They are involved in the diagnosis and rehabilitation of patients with deafness and voice disorders.

This unit is equipped to carry out, basic comprehensive Audiometry, Tympanometry, Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA), Hearing Aid Trial and provides support for the cochlear implant programme.

List of Facilities

1. Allergy Clinic - A full- fledged Allergy clinic is functional in the Outpatient department for diagnostic purpose as well as in the treatment of allergies by desensitisation.

2. Temporal bone dissection lab - A temporal bone experimental laboratory is also attached to the department with facilities for carrying out microsurgical dissection of the temporal bone with the help of a microscope. This allows sufficient skills to be developed by the postgraduate students before they attempt surgery on patients.

3. Vertigo Clinic – A full- fledged computerised ENG (Electronystagmography lab) is functional in ENT OPD for evaluation and management of vertigo.