The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery recently presented Hassan Ramadan, M.D., professor and vice chair of the West Virginia University Department of Otolaryngology, with its Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Ramadan received the award in recognition of his exceptional services in the scientific programs, exhibits, continuing education courses and instructional courses of the society. He became a member of the society in the early 1990s. Since that time, he has participated in every annual meeting of the AAO-HNS with a scientific course, poster or presentation.

“I like to go to the meetings both to teach and to learn. It’s an opportunity to connect with colleagues in the field and exchange ideas, like new research and techniques, with them,” Ramadan said. “It’s great not only to learn but to share and teach. It’s very rewarding and satisfying.”

Ramadan said he ultimately chose to become an otolaryngologist (an ear, nose and throat specialist) because of the specialty’s diversity and refinement. One day, he could be treating a facial fracture with screws and plates and the next day, he could be putting a 1.14 mm tube into a 1-year-old child’s ear.

“It’s very interesting to me. There’s diversity not only in the way we treat people but also the types of people we see. We see very young children all the way up to adults who are 100 years old,” he said.

Ramadan also likes the fact that he is both medical doctor and surgeon for his patients. “It improves continuity of care,” he said. “We’re it. We see you in the clinic, and if necessary, we perform your surgery.”

The AAO-HNS presented Ramadan with the award at its 2010 Annual Meeting and OTO EXPO, which was held Sept. 26-29 in Boston. The meeting is the largest gathering of otolaryngologists in the world with more than 165 scientific research sessions, 200 posters and more than 300 instruction course hours for attendees.

For more information on the AAO-HNS see www.entnet.org.

For more information on the WVU Department of Otolaryngology see http://wvuhealthcare.com/services/otolaryngology/index.aspx.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Angela Jones, HSC News Service
304-293-7087; jonesan@wvuh.com