Rolling admission · Istanbul · Delivered in English
Follow how a university ear, nose and throat department stages head and neck cancer, agrees treatment at its weekly tumour board and carries out resection and reconstruction, with no operative role, on the lists scheduled during your dates.
What you see depends on the department's clinical calendar during your placement; the list below describes the department's usual scope, not a guaranteed programme.
Treatment starts with an accurate map of the disease. The patient is examined in the clinic, the upper airway is inspected endoscopically, a tissue diagnosis is obtained and cross-sectional imaging defines the extent of the primary tumour and the state of the neck. Together these give the stage. General health, nutrition, dental status and the patient's own priorities, particularly speech and swallowing, are recorded at the same time, because they affect which treatments are realistic.
The plan is then agreed at the tumour board, where surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists review each case together. Early disease is often treated with a single modality, either surgery or radiotherapy, while more advanced disease usually needs combined treatment. The choice between them depends on the site, the stage, the expected effect on function and the patient's fitness and wishes. For some tumours of the larynx and throat, the central question is whether the organ can be preserved without compromising cure.
When surgery is chosen, three decisions travel together: how the tumour will be removed with clear margins, how the neck will be managed and how the defect will be reconstructed. Larger reconstructions are planned with the plastic surgery team, and the airway plan is agreed with the anaesthetist before the day. After the operation, recovery of speech and swallowing and the schedule of surveillance matter as much as the wound. An observer who follows a case from the tumour board to the ward sees how these decisions connect.
This page covers head and neck oncology within the ear, nose and throat department. Otology and cochlear implantation have their own focus page. Thyroid and parathyroid surgery are followed in the thyroid and endocrine surgery placement, and free-flap reconstruction is covered in depth on the reconstructive microsurgery page.
Trainees and graduate physicians in otorhinolaryngology or surgery who want to see how a tumour board works and how its decisions are carried into theatre; clinical-year students are eligible but usually gain more from the wider department.
Otorhinolaryngologists with a specialist qualification who state head and neck oncology as their interest within the department; the department decides allocation, and oncological lists are followed alongside its other clinics and lists.
Both routes are strictly observational: observers attend theatre and clinic without patient contact, do not scrub or assist, and are not assessed on any procedure.
| Clinical Observership | Clinical Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1, 2 or 4 weeks (extension possible on request) | 12 to 24 months, agreed with the host department |
| Who it is for | Medical students in clinical years and graduate physicians from outside Turkey | Recognised specialists and family physicians seeking advanced exposure beyond standard specialty training |
| Format | Full-time, strictly observational — outpatient clinics, operating theatre, ward rounds, case discussions | Extended observational attachment to one department: daily practice, service structure and specific techniques |
| Certificate | Certificate of attendance issued by the host hospital and signed by its Medical Director | Certificate on completion issued under the accreditation of the affiliated university school of medicine |
| Start | Rotations typically begin on a Monday; dates are agreed individually | Start date planned around the date you request and the department's capacity |
One online application for both routes. State Head & Neck Surgery as your focus in your objectives; ATDERA reviews the file and prepares it for the ENT department, then replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
Already started? The application page picks up where you left off.
ATDERA Global Limited (Companies House No. 17173428, registered in England and Wales) coordinates this programme for a university teaching hospital in Istanbul. ATDERA is not a hospital and does not provide clinical care; admission decisions and certificates are the host hospital's.
One online application covers both routes and all twenty-one specialties — details, programme choice and documents in five short steps. ATDERA reviews the file and replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
