Tuesday October, 26
5:15 – 5:45 p.m. CT
Interdisciplinary Novel Approaches in Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Head & Neck Oncology
Suresh Nayar, BDS, MDS, MPhil
University of Alberta

Management of head and neck oncology is a complex process due to the anatomically diverse areas that it affects, and the vital functions affected by the disease and its management. Achieving good functional reconstruction and rehabilitation plays a vital role in the quality of life in survivorship. Novel techniques involving advanced digital technologies allow for new levels of precision and accuracy, resulting in improved restoration and reconstruction of head and neck surgical defects. The process can only succeed by the collaboration of an interdisciplinary team which is particularly relevant when considering the introduction and utilization of advanced digital technologies in the treatment pathway. There has been a fascinating emergence of new disciplines bridging the traditional professions in medicine and dentistry, with engineering, art, industrial design, anaplastology and surgical design and simulation, converging and collaborating in achieving functional rehabilitation.

To achieve this level of sophistication in reconstruction and rehabilitation for head and neck oncology patients, it is imperative that the management is a team affair of a group of highly trained specialists in various fields including maxillofacial prosthodontics, head and neck surgery, plastic surgery, surgical design and simulation, anaplastology, dental lab technology among others. This presentation will share how our institution has achieved this interdisciplinary cooperation and collaboration and how this collaboration helps achieve better treatment outcomes.

At the conclusion of this session, attendees should be able to:

• Summarize the interdisciplinary collaboration in head and neck oncology.
• Showcase the rise of advanced digital technologies.
• Report on how collaboration and novel techniques improve treatment outcomes.

Biography: Dr. Suresh Nayar is the Director of Clinics & Maxillofacial Prosthodontist at the Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM), and an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada since 2013. He is the Site Program Chief at the Misericordia Community Hospital, Canada. He was a Consultant in Restorative Dentistry and an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer in the UK, since 2009.