Globe-trotting and 62 years of ENT is a remarkable tale of a truly larger-than-life personality. From Vasant Oswal's humble origins in 1930s India and his entry into medical training, the story unfolds with a move to the UK for higher surgical training leading to an appointment as a consultant ENT surgeon in Middlesbrough in 1970. (Contd)
Over six decades as an ENT professional, it narrates an abundance of ENT history with highlights of the transformation of the UK's social, political and professional landscape. His temporal bone dissections in the Anatomy and Pathology Resource Centre of the RCS Eng. help many generations of ENT trainees.
He established, de novo, a local head and neck cancer service way back in 1972, a concept now widely known as Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT). He introduced and pioneered one of the first surgical lasers into UK ENT practice designing bespoke instruments and metal anaesthetic tubes¹.
His literary output is enormous, with three books on Lasers. Editor in Chief of the ENT & Audiology News provided him with a global platform for his widely recognised editorial skills. He founded the Asia Pacific Laryngology Association. He helped create a not-for-profit 1000-bedded hospital in his hometown of Pune, work accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
His worldwide teaching travels with his wife Nirmal are inspirational to one and all.
