COIMBATORE: V.Anand, Consultant ENT, Head and Neck Surgeon of the MCV Memorial ENT Trust Hospital, Pollachi, has won the RAF Cooper Award for developing the technique of fibrescopic laryngeal surgery that helps avoid the use of anaesthesia during operations to correct voice disorders.

The Association of Otorhinolaryngologists of India (AOI) chose him for the award that was instituted by its founder member (and also named after him) 58 years ago, according to a release from the hospital.

The awardee is chosen from among 4,000 members of the AOI based on the projects they submit to it. Dr. Anand received the award from the AOI president, Grewal, at a function recently at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

Nasal Clip

The release said that Dr. Anand is the only surgeon to have received the award twice. He won it in 1990 for developing the nasal septal clip that helped avoid the use of nasal packs to stop bleeding after a surgery. The packs forced breathing through the mouth as the nasal passage remained closed for two days.

The packs forced breathing through the mouth as the nasal passage remained closed for two days. The patients experienced pain and could not eat. The clip eliminated these post-surgery problems.

As for latest fibrescopic method (an endoscopic procedure done by inserting a thin tube into the nose), 70 persons had been operated upon using this technique.

By not giving the patients general anaesthesia, the risk of cardiac arrest was eliminated. "For those with systemic problems such as cardiac disorders, this method is safe as only a local anaesthesia is administered," Dr. Anand said.

"The earlier method of microscopic laryngeal surgery could be done only with the patient under general anaesthesia." The patient needed to stay only for six hours in the hospital, including two hours before the surgery.