Get to Know the #OTOMTG21 International Guests of Honor: Brazilian Society of Head and Neck Surgery

Antonio A. T. Bertelli, MD, MS
Board of Directors, Brazilian Society of Head and Neck SurgeryThe Brazilian Society of Head and Neck Surgery (BSHNS) was founded in 1967 in São Paulo during the first meeting of head and neck surgeons. The leading surgeon at that time was Jorge Faribanks Barbosa, a worldwide, well-known Brazilian head and neck surgeon who published more than 100 publications, including the book Surgical Treatment of Head and Neck Tumors published in 1974. Barbosa standardized extended maxillary resections, introduced a new technique of base of tongue cancer surgery preserving function, described pull-though access for oral and Antonio J. Gonçalves, MD, PhD
President, Brazilian Society of Head and Neck Surgeryoropharynx tumors, and other remarkable contributions for head and neck surgery (HNS). He was the first president of BSHNS.

Since that time, BSHNS became the largest society of HNS in Latin America, with more than 800 members. Since 1974, it has had its own publication, currently called Archives of Head and Neck Surgery (ISSN 2595-2544) and is one of the founding societies of the Latin American Federation of Head and Neck Surgeries Societies. There are 38 residency training centers accredited by BSHNS all over Brazil.

In Brazil, otolaryngology and HNS societies are different societies. The Brazilian Association of Otolaryngology has more than 8,000 members. Usually, the otolaryngologist takes care of benign disease and the head and neck surgeon focus on cancer and thyroid surgeries. Most head and neck surgeons come from general surgery, although it is possible to do HNS residency after otolaryngology. 

First Brazilian Meeting of HNS, when BSHNS was founded: left to right: Ataliba Belizzi, Jorge de Marsillac, Jorge Fairbanks Barbosa, Romulo Falcão, Antonio Bertelli, unknown gentleman.