Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Rural Medical College - Department of ENT and Head & Neck Surgery

Introduction:

"The brave trades where the ordinary man is scared to step" — this spirit of Padmashri Dr. Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil continues to guide every department of this institution. True to his dream of providing world-class medical and educational facilities to the rural, backward, and remote areas of Maharashtra, the Department of Otorhinolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery (ENT) stands as a beacon of comprehensive ear, nose, throat, head, and neck care.

Equipped with all state-of-the-art diagnostic, therapeutic, and surgical facilities, the department is geared to provide holistic ENT care to the local population — predominantly from low socio-economic and educational backgrounds — while simultaneously imparting rigorous training to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Vision:

Benchmark in comprehensive ENT & Head-Neck care — blending excellence with compassion.

Mission:

1) To provide high-quality, affordable, and accessible ENT care to the needy rural population.
2) To increase awareness about preventable hearing loss, voice disorders, and head-neck cancers in the community.
3) To serve the rural and disadvantaged — the poor, the underserved — irrespective of social status or background.
4) To impart thorough knowledge and clinical acumen in Otorhinolaryngology to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
5) To foster research and innovation in ENT and allied subspecialties.

Teaching Facilities Offered:

The department provides the following facilities for comprehensive teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students:

1. Lecture Hall — fully equipped with modern audio-visual aids
2. Departmental Library — with latest textbooks, journals, and e-resources
3. Seminar Hall — equipped with multimedia projector, video-conferencing capability
4. Demonstration Room — for case-based learning and tutorials
5. Audiovisual Library — comprehensive collection of CDs, DVDs, and digital modules covering routine and advanced ENT operative procedures
6. Temporal Bone Dissection Laboratory — 4-station wet lab with operating microscopes and high-speed drills for hands-on surgical training
7. Cadaveric Dissection Facility — for advanced endoscopic sinus and skull base dissection workshops
8. Well-Equipped Research Laboratory— for audiological, vestibular, and microbiological research
9. Departmental Museum— containing pathological gross specimens, anatomical models, surgical instruments, and wall charts
10. Collection of Digital Teaching Resources— X-rays, CT scans, MRIs and video recordings of relevant ENT diseases and surgical procedures

Services Offerd By Department:

1. Outpatient Department (OPD)
2. Inpatient Department (IPD) — 30-bedded ward
3. 24 × 7 Emergency Services — including airway emergencies, epistaxis management, foreign body removal, and trauma
4. U.G. and P.G. Teaching Programme
5. Special Services in the form of Subspecialty Clinics
6. Major & Minor Operations — elective and emergency (6 days/week)
7. Day-care Surgery Facility

Distinguished Services & Specialized Equipment: Thrust Areas Of Research:

1) Otology — Hearing screening in high-risk neonates, Ossiculoplasty materials & results, CSOM complications & management.
2) Rhinology — Allergic rhinitis, Endoscopic DCR versus conventional DCR, Image-guided FESS outcomes, Fungal sinusitis epidemiology.
3) Laryngology — Voice analysis in professional voice users, Post-thyroidectomy voice changes.
4) Head & Neck Oncology — Clinicopathological profile of oral cancers in rural population, Neck dissection techniques & morbidity, Reconstruction outcomes.
5) Pediatric ENT — Prevalence of hearing loss in school children, Tonsillectomy versus observation outcomes, Pediatric sleep apnea.
6) Vestibular Sciences — Prevalence of BPPV in rural population.
7) Audiology — Normative data for OAE and BERA in local population, Hearing aid compliance in rural elderly.

Extension Activities: