Author: Semon Lecture Trust

Mr Henry Jagoe Shaw gave his Semon Lecture on the 1st of November 1984. He discusses palliative care of head and neck cancers, noting that only about 40% of head and neck malignancies are ‘cured’. Shaw explores the place of radiotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and drug treatments before moving on to discuss the design of management … Continue reading “Palliation in Head and Neck Cancer”

Professor Bӧrje Olov Drettner presented his Semon Lecture on the 3rd of November 1983 at the Royal Society of Medicine. Within his talk, he aims to answer Arthur Proetz’s (past Semon Lecturer) question of what has become of the nose and demonstrate the significance of clinical rhinology. To do this, he evaluates treatment methods, improved … Continue reading “Why Does Research in Rhinology Matter?”

Professor Gerald Westbury gave his Semon Lecture in 1982. He focused on squamous cell carcinoma as it was the predominant type of tongue cancer. He detailed the staging of these cancers and their spread, before moving onto the various treatment options, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and later reconstruction. Westbury highlights the need for earlier presentation … Continue reading “Current Thoughts on the Management of Cancer of the Tongue”

Professor John Albert Kirchner delivered his Semon Lecture on the 5th of November 1981. He revisits Semon’s Law and concludes that damage to the motor fibres of the recurrent laryngeal nerve leads to vocal cord paralysis in or near the midline, and if the ipsilateral vagus nerve is also injured, then physiological inactivation of the … Continue reading “Laryngeal Physiology – a Century After Semon”

Mr Robert Pracy presented his Semon Lecture in 1980. He highlights in his lecture that children are not just small adults and that future growth needs to be considered when choosing treatments. Pracy also discusses advances in technology in aid of hearing aids, diagnostic recordings, new drugs and notably CO2 lasers. He points out that … Continue reading “Recent Developments in Paediatric Otolaryngology”

Professor Gordon Snow gave his Semon Lecture in 1979. In this, he spoke in depth about reconstruction after head and neck cancer surgery and in particular about reconstruction after mandibulectomy. Snow presented some of the data collected at his hospital about the numbers of patients where reconstruction was possible and the complications and things that … Continue reading “Problems in Reconstruction After Surgery for Oral Carcinoma”

Mr Peter Clifford delivered his Semon Lecture on the 2nd of November 1978 at the Royal Society of Medicine. He discusses the use of chemotherapy to treat head and neck cancers, noting that further surgery and radiotherapy will not improve results, but immunotherapy and chemotherapy are prudent areas of investigation. Clifford then moves on to … Continue reading “The Role of Cytotoxic Drugs in the Surgical Management of Head and Neck Malignancies”

Professor Joseph H Ogura gave his Semon Lecture on the 3rd of November 1977 at the Royal Society of Medicine. During his lecture, he described the epidemiology, pathology, indications for surgical decompression, techniques and results and complications from experience of 220 cases of exophthalmos. Ogura also stresses the importance of cooperation between otolaryngologists, endocrinologists and … Continue reading “Orbital Decompression for Progressive Exopthalmos”

Mr Ian Alexander McGregor presented his Semon Lecture on the 4th of November 1976 at the Royal Society of Medicine. He notes that techniques for oral malignancy excision were perfected before 1950 and that cure rates have not changed since then, but patient quality of life has. He then highlights the difference between a single … Continue reading “Problems of Reconstructive Surgery of the Oral Cavity”

Professor Ettore Bocca gave his Semon Lecture in 1975. He describes very clearly the anatomy of the neck area, looking at the superficial and deep cervical fascia, and explores how this must be understood in order to successfully carry out functional neck dissection in those with laryngeal tumours. Bocca contrasts this method with radical neck … Continue reading “A Critical Analysis of the Techniques and Value of Neck Dissection”