Special Guests

The Organising Committee of the 12th Asia-Oceania ORL-HNS Congress were thrilled to have the participation of Ms Helen Clark, Michael Rutter and Ian Civil as special guests at the Congress. 

Helen Clark - Opening Address

In April 2009 Helen Clark became the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. She is the first woman to lead the organisation and her appointment was unanimously approved by the UN General Assembly. She is also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues. She has been a strong supporter of development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Prior to her appointment with UNDP, Helen Clark served for nine years as Prime Minister of New Zealand, serving three successive terms from 1999 - 2008. Throughout her tenure as Prime Minister, Helen Clark engaged widely in policy development and advocacy across the international, economic, social and cultural spheres, including sustainability and climate change, and the development of an inclusive multicultural and multi faith society. She was also a very active leader of her country's international relations at bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels.

Please click here to download the speech Helen Clark gave at the Congress

Michael Rutter - James Hardy Neil Lecturer

Michael J. Rutter, MD, FRACS, Pediatric Otolaryngologist and Director of Clinical Research at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. Rutter is internationally known for his expertise in Management of pediatric aspiration, management of congenital tracheal stenosis, management of pediatric sleep apnea, management of adult airway disease and continued progress in management of the complex airway.

The James Hardy Neil Lecture took place on Friday 4th March 1800 - 1820 across all streams. The theme of the lecture was "Ethics, Industry, and the Birth of a Subspecialty".

About the James Hardy Neil Lecture

The James Hardie Neil Lecture was established in 2010 to commemorate Lieutenant Colonel James Hardie Neil, C.B.E., D.S.O., F.R.A.C.S., F.A.C.S., the Founding President of the Otolaryngological Society of New Zealand, the forerunner of the New Zealand Society of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery.

The inaugural James Hardie Neil Lecture was given by Mr Ron Goodey, F.R.A.C.S., C.N.Z.M., who was the President of the NZSOHNS in 1997-1999.

James Hardie Neil was born in Dunedin in 1875. After graduating M.B.,Ch.B. from the University of Otago in 1898, he held the appointment of Resident Surgeon at Auckland Hospital from 1899-1900. In 1900-1901 he served in the South African War as Surgeon Captain with the 4th New Zealand Mounted Rifles, and was awarded the Queen's Medal with four clasps. After the war, he gained the qualifications of MRCS and LRCP in London.  On his return to New Zealand in 1903, Hardie Neil was appointed Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgeon to Auckland Hospital, a post that he held for 45 years until 1948.

During the First World War he served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the New Zealand Medical Corps, and was in command of No. 3 Field Ambulance with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade from 1915-1919, serving mostly in Egypt and France. For his services he was awarded the D.S.O. and the Belgian Croix de Guerre, and was mentioned in dispatches three times.

In 1921 Hardie Neil was elected the first President of the newly formed Auckland Clinical Society. A member of the British Medical Association since 1899, he was Chairman of the Auckland Division in 1923-1924. He was also President of the Otolaryngological section of the New Zealand Medical Conference in 1924, and of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association in 1939. Hardie Neil was elected a Foundation Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, and was elected a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1924. He was founding President of the New Zealand League for the Hard of Hearing (now the Hearing Association) in 1932.

In 1941-1943 Hardie Neil was reactivated from the retired list to command the 12th (Fortress) Field Ambulance in New Zealand. He was appointed C.B.E. in 1947. The following year in 1948, Hardie Neil was the founding President of The Otolaryngological Society of New Zealand.

James Hardie Neil was a pioneer in broncho-oesophagology. Collaborating with radiologist Dr Frank Gwynne and pathologist Dr William Gilmour, he played a leading role in describing bronchopulmonary anatomy. He also authored a book on Field Ambulance Organization and Administration (published in 1918), and on Ear, Nose, and Throat Nursing, which ran to several editions.

The James Hardie Neil Lecture is delivered in recognition of one of our colleagues who has excelled in his clinical skill, provided inspiration and set standards in the field of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery for future generations of surgeons to strive for.

Ian Civil

Ian is a graduate of the University of Auckland School of Medicine completing his MBChB in 1976 . His initial surgical training was undertaken in Auckland where he completed his general surgical fellowship in 1983.

In the mid-80s he worked in the USA for three years, first as a vascular surgery fellow at the Cleveland Clinic and then as a trauma fellow in the Southern New Jersey Regional Trauma Center in Camden, NJ. After returning to NZ in 1987, Ian took up a combined University of Auckland/Royal NZ Army Medical Corps appointment in which he served for 5 years. In 1990-1 he led the NZ Army Medical Team to the first Gulf War.

Ian has been Senior Lecturer in Surgery with the University of Auckland since 1988 and from 1992 has practiced as a General and Vascular surgeon at Auckland City Hospital. He has been the Director of Trauma Services throughout this time. Since 2007 he has been Director of Surgery at Auckland City Hospital. He has served on a number of international trauma organisations becoming President of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) in 1999 and President of the International Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Intensive Care (IATSIC) from 2007-2009.

Ian is a founding member of the Australasian Trauma Society and is the current Vice-President. He is a member of the Editorial Boards for the World Journal of Surgery and the World Journal of Emergency Surgery, Associate Editor of Traffic Injury Prevention, Senior Editor of the Australian and NZ Journal of Surgery and Deputy Editor of INJURY .He has been a RACS Councillor since 2002, was Chair of the Board of Basic Surgical Training from 2004-2006, and Censor in Chief from 2007-2010. Currently Ian is the President of the RACS.

Conference Fellows

The 12th Asia-Oceania Otolaryngology Congress Committee was pleased to sponsor Tenzin Norsang Norbhu from Bhutan and Chris Rataphol Dhepnorrarat from Singapore, together with the Australasian Society for Facial Plastic Surgery.

The second Fellow is Dr S Kannan, a student working with Dr D'Cruz in Mumbai. He was sponsored by the Auckland Indian Doctors Association and Dr CS (Benji) Benjamin.

Eugene N. Myers, MD, FACS, FRCS Edin (Hon)

We were looking forward to welcoming Professor Myers as Guest of Honour to the Congress. Unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances Professor Myers was unable to attend.