An educational conference on taking care of children with paediatric airway and swallowing disorders for improved quality of life and quicker recovery

The Children’s Airways & Swallowing Center (CASC), a division of Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, recently organized the “6th International Update on Paediatric Airway & Swallowing Disorder” conference. The event took place from March 30th to April 1st, 2023, and was aimed at improving the quality of care provided to children with airway and swallowing problems and training doctors in the latest surgical procedures, care, home ventilation, and therapy.

The three-day event covered a series of didactic lectures, live surgeries, panel discussions, instructional modules, and workshops that covered the latest research, diagnosis, and treatment approaches for a range of paediatric airway and swallowing disorders. The delegates were assessed for their pre-test knowledge and post-test after the workshop to see how many people have benefitted or taken home these skills to give better care to their patients in their own setups. The conference also aimed to encourage private-public partnership, sharing, and caring across doctors and to assist in setting up centers in other parts of the country which was highly commended by Dr. V K Paul, Member of Niti Ayog.

International faculty in the field of paediatric airway and swallowing disorders from the University of Cincinnati, Texas, Iowa (USA), Lausanne (Switzerland), and Perth (Australia) collaborated to provide training to Indian healthcare professionals, including ENT specialists, paediatricians, speech and language therapists, and other allied medical experts. Attendees had the opportunity to interact with these experts and gain insights into the latest advances and techniques, and the latest research on paediatric airway and swallowing disorders.

The Children’s Airways & Swallowing Center (CASC) at Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, is an Aero-digestive unit that was established in 2000 to address the airway and swallowing problems of children, including those with congenital defects, those who have undergone cardiac or renal operations, and those who cannot breathe or swallow normally.

Dr. E.V Raman, Consultant – Director Children’s Airway & Swallowing Centre, Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road said, “At Children’s Airways & Swallowing Center, the care is not just limited to treating children within the hospital. Some children require help even after going home. Therefore, we have initiated these educational programs that train medical professionals, nurses, and caregivers to help parents care for children with cardiac/renal operations or congenital defects who may require feeding tubes or breathing assistance. This extends care beyond the hospital and into the home, helping children return to normal lives. Conferences such as these are important to cater to all children and this is the only center of its kind in Asia and Africa at present.”