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Services
Ear, Nose and Throat and Audiology
Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)
The ENT Department at St George's Healthcare comprises 14 consultants (four part-time), seven specialist registrars and other doctors in training. It is the 'hub' of a network which includes Kingston, St Helier and Mayday hospitals. This means that patients from these hospitals come to St George's for complex surgery. The ENT Department also provides their emergency cover.
ENT surgery offers services to treat disorders and defects of the ears, nose (including sinuses), throat, head and neck. Services are provided for adults and children on an inpatient or daypatient basis.
Service include:
- Head and Neck: Treatment of cancers of the eyes, mouth, nose, throat and glands in the neck. A well-established Unit provides services to St George's patients as well as providing a tertiary service to other hospitals across southwest London. The Unit is one of the busiest in the UK, supported by a strong multi-disciplinary team comprised of four ENT surgeons, three maxillofacial surgeons and one plastic surgeon, two clinical nurse specialists, a large pathology team, one consultant radiologist, three oncologists, three speech and language therapists, one dietician and one multi-disciplinary team coordinator.
- Otology: Treatment of ear problems such hearing loss, dizziness, inflammation, perforated eardrums and mastoid infection.
- Rhinology: Treatment of problems with the nose and sinuses, including infections, allergies and inflammations causing congestion and runny noses. Also includes disorders of olfaction.
- Special clinics: For voice disorders and snoring problems, providing analysis for these complex disorders.
- Facial plastic surgery: Management of facial deformity and cosmetic facial surgery such as rhinoplasty and pinnaplasty / otoplasty.
- Paediatric (children's) ENT: Offering expertise in general paediatric issues such as tonsils, adenoids and grommet surgery, as well as management of more complex problems including airway difficulties and tumours of the head and neck.
- Upper respiratory tract allergies
- Neuro-otology: Specializing in management of disorders of balance and hearing associated with the nerves to the organs of balance and hearing.
Audiology Department
The work of the ENT Department is supported by a large Audiology Department with which holds many joint clinics for both adults and paediatric (child) patients. The combined work is particularly valuable in relation to complex paediatric cases and the provision of bone-anchored hearing aids and cochlear implants (see below). The Audiology Department was established in 1986. The service provides a specialised diagnostic and rehabilitative service for patients presenting with dizziness, imbalance, hearing loss and tinnitus. The Department also offers paediatric audiology.
The Audiology team has to four audiological physicians. These consultants are supported by a team of nine audiologists, and two hearing therapists, making it one of the largest departments in the country.
The Department provides advanced digital hearing aids for patients with hearing loss, a range of hearing tests, including behavioural and objective assessment of hearing, and a full clinical balance assessment. Counselling and continuous follow up care is offered to all those requiring it, including paediatric patients of any age, adults and the elderly. The Audiology Department has established good links with the community and runs outreach clinics at two local care centres.
In addition to the general audiology clinics, there are also specialised clinics for:
- Neuro-otology - vestibular (balance) & auditory (hearing) for both paediatric and adult cases
- Tinnitus
- Learning Disability
The services for providing Bone Anchored Hearing Aids, known as the BAHA programme, began in 2003 in conjunction with the ENT Department. This type of hearing aid is fitted to the patient's head, is light and comfortable to wear, as well as offering an improved level of hearing.
A Newborn Screening Programme is in place nationally to screen newborns for hearing loss. This has been rolled out at St George's Hospital with the support of the Audiology Department.
The newly-developed cochlear implant programme is a joint exercise between Audiology and ENT. A cochlear implant is an electronic device, sometimes called a bionic ear, which stimulates auditory nerves to give a profoundly deaf person a sense of hearing. Surgery is carried out by the ENT Department while pre-operative assessment and post-operative rehabilitation is predominantly managed by the Audiology Department.
Location
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ENT and Audiology Outpatients is in Lanesborough Wing at St George's Hospital.
Contact details
ENT 020 8725 2050
Audiology 020 8725 1151
Referral
GPs can refer by letter, fax or via Choose & Book.
