Head, neck, ear, throat surgeries are on the rise

Head, Neck, Ear, and Throat Surgeries on the Rise

Within 1 year only: nose-ear-throat surgeries in Rambam
hospital increased in 100%

More than 2000 surgeries were done during 2013 in the
nose-ear-throat department in Rambam, 2 fold more compared to
the previous year

By Doron Solomon

The number of head, neck, and nose-ear-throat surgeries in
Rambam were doubled within one year. According to the data of
the nose-ear-throat department, the increase was registered
mainly in oncology surgeries of the mouth, head and neck,
larynx and children surgeries. Thyroid surgeries increased
380% during last year. Increase of 320% was in surgeries for
removing tumors in the throat area (from 40 to 128 surgeries).
Surgeries of the parotid gland tumors increased 260% in 2013.
But the most impressive increase of all, is the increase of
1000% (from 5 to 49) in the number of head and neck surgeries.
An additional increase was registered in the number of people
treated in the nose-ear-throat department and head and neck
surgeries, who arrived from central Israel. In 2013, 1/4 of
the people treated in the department arrived from south to
Hedera. According to the director of the department, professor
Ziv Gil, who started working  1.5 years ago, the data is
evidence for the reputation of the department: "As someone who
arrived to Rambam from Ichilov, I know how medicine was
perceived in the periphery compared to the medical services
given in the center. The fact that more and more patients are
coming to us from the center, and the huge increase in the
level of activity in the department, speaks for itself. We
believe in the saying: "the north is the center". The evidence
for this is the fact that every day we see more and more
patients who arrive from Eilat, Beer Sheva, Ashkelon,
Bnei-Brack, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Quality is not a matter of
geography, and the patients certainly understand that".

The reason for this increase is explained by professor Gil
with a simple medical formula: "the data that arrive from the
US and Australia, show that the chances of the patient to get
over cancer are 30% higher in university centers like Rambam,
where the patient is treated by a team of experts, compared to
a treatment by a single doctor", he clarifies and adds: "the
nose-ear-throat and head and neck department doubled its
activity during a short period of time, and we intend to
continue spreading. In the north of the country there is
living a large population, entitled to quality of medical
treatment, of the kind that can only be found in university
hospitals, and we are here in order to address this need".

Yedioth Haifa, 30.5.14