International Surgeons Course

Surgeons

For cochlear implant surgeons based outside of the U.S.

Course Full
Upcoming Course Dates
May 9
Aug 8, 2024
All materials available as pre-recorded content available on-demand
in collaboration with

The International Surgeons Course (ISC) is designed for Cochlear Implant (CI) surgeons living outside of the United States and consists of all didactic training of the Institute for Cochlear Implant Training's Advanced Surgeons Course (ASC).

Course Format

  • 14 Modules, each of which contains weekly guided readings, recorded lectures, self-correcting knowledge assessments, discussion board Q & A, and live Web-Class recordings.  All are presented on Blackboard online and lead to a Certificate of Completion of the ISC Didactic Course.
  • This is a didactic course only with no temporal bone laboratory sessions.

This course was designed to address possible issues confronting  international CI surgeons who wish to access ICIT cochlear implant training:

  • Time zone difficulties: Time zone differences of 5 to 14 hours may create hardship for international participants.  These are eliminated by making all lectures and web classes available online at any time during the Module week.
  • Travel expense: Travel to the temporal bone lab may be expensive and cause extensive time away from work.  No travel is required for this didactic-only course.  (No temporal bone laboratory sessions are included.)
  • Tuition reduction: Tuition is reduced by 1/4 of the ASC.

Prerequisites

Experience in mastoidectomy, facial recess, and cochlear implantation is required.

DIDACTIC CURRICULUM

THE COMPLETE CI SURGEON

Week 1 - MODULE 1: History & Basic Principles

Week 2 - MODULE 2: Applied Surgical Anatomy

Week 3 - MODULE 3: Micro-anatomy Cochlea & Central Auditory System

Week 4 - MODULE 4: Cochlear Implant Candidacy

Week 5 - MODULE 5.1: Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Auditory Neuropathy

Week 6 - MODULE 5.2: Deficient Cochlear Nerve, ECochG Monitoring

Week 7 - MODULE 6: Imaging

Week 8 - MODULE 7, 8: Meningitis & Deaf Culture

Week 9 - MODULE 9, 10: Signal Processing, Tinnitus & Single Sided Deafness


SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

Week 10 - MODULE 11: Incision, Periosteal Pocket Technique

Week 11 - MODULE 12: Mastoidectomy, Facial Recess, Promontory

Week 12 - MODULE 13: Adaptive Cochleostomy & Electrode Insertion Vectors

Week 13 - MODULE 14.1: Difficult Cases

Week 14 - MODULE 14.2: Difficult Cases

Tuition

Link to pay tuition will be sent if application is accepted.

Temporal Bone Lab Gallery

International Surgeons Course

Participant Reviews

Nicolas-Xavier Bonne, MD, PhD
Hôpital Privé le Bois Pôle Lille Métropole Ramsay Health Lille, France

Thank you for sharing your personal experience along with detailed literature during these weeks of lecture. I definitely appreciated all classes and topics brought in the discussion board and was quite amazed to see how surgical technic progressed from the 80s. Seeing videos of cochlear endoscopy with laser was fantastic.

Andreas Anagiotos, MD, PhD
Nicosia General Hospital Cyprus

I would like to thank you for all the knowledge and experience you shared with us the last several weeks. It was really a great honor and pleasure for me to learn from you. And I really learnt a lot. For every CI candidate and in every CI implantation now I recall your advice. For me the last 14 weeks have been a wonderful journey in Cochlear Implants from A to Z.

Maria Lidia Sanchez
National Institute of Respiratory Diseases Mexico City, Mexico

Many thanks to the entire team of the professionals who make the dissemination of this course possible , especially to DR BALKANY in whom I GREATLY appreciate his clear diction English. IT HAS BEEN very useful for me to have a study guide on the most relevant topics and above all I AM GRATEFUL for those small and very important tips that clarified issues thah seemed difficult to understand in a few moments.

M-Basel Alassi, MD, MS (ENT)
Emirates Hospital Motor City, Dubai, UAE

Thank you very much Dr.Buchman, Dr. Roland, Dr. Luxford, Dr. Zwolan and Dr. Balkany for this great course. I would like also to thank the supporting team who made the course go very smooth and easy to be accessed by all of us.This course has added a lot of information to my knowledge about the CI fields, and encouraged me to increase my practical experience in the future to be able to help the beloved hearing impaired children and adults to restore their hearing back through this great technology.Thank you again from my heart, and I wish your center all the best, and I hope that I will get a chance in the future to have some hands-on training there.

Olayinka Suleiman
Federal Medical Centre Katsina, Nigeria

I wish to thank you greatly for taking me through this course ,sharing your knowledge and experience with us from basis to advanced level of cochlear implantation I am grateful for this as it has given me a good path to follow to develop myself as an implant surgeon and putting up a successful.and well informed program in Nigeria.

Shankar Shah, MS
Otology Fellow, Westmead Hospital, Sydney LUKS, Switzerland Dept. Of Otolaryngology Koirala Institute of Health Sciences Dharan, Nepal

A meticulous, well designed course by the leaders in the field of CI. The range and depth of topics by experts are invaluable to any budding Implant otologist.

Patrick John Labra
Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Philippines

Thank you Prof. Balkany for this very unique and special course. This course went into topics that are mostly ignored including the core electrophysiologic basis of implants. The time devoted to audiology and basics of candidacy were also very appreciated. I think a course like this should be required of any implant surgeon.

Dr. Manusrut
Fellow in Implant Otology Christian Medical College Vellore, India

The ICIT course was a great experience for me. Initially, I thought it’s too early in my carrier for this course. But your kind words of encouragement have ignited my interest in this field. It means a lot to me, and I would definitely live up to the expectations. I was indeed very fortunate to be a part of the course.

Asmeeta I Patel, MBBS, MS
ENT, Head & Neck Surgeon,Aga Khan University Hospital,Cochlear Implant Group of KenyaNairobi, Kenya

The ISC provides excellent evidence-based teaching of the concepts and skills of cochlear implantation in a systematic and comprehensive manner. It has greatly expanded my knowledge base and understanding of cochlear implantation. It was a great privilege to participate in the course and to be taught by leading experts in the field

Sandro Coelho, MD, MsC
Otolaryngologist & Preceptor (Otological surgery) Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC-Brazil) Master Degree in Surgery (UFPE - Brazil) Specialist in Pediatric Deafness Rehabilitation (USP - Brazil)

The ICIT International Surgeons Course … is an opportunity to update knowledge with a great faculty, sharing experiences with colleagues and learning pearls of wisdom that will impact daily practice. I strongly recommend it

Ajay Philip
Assistant Professor Department of ENT Unit-4 Christian Medical College Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

I was privileged to be a part of this course and recommend it to any ENT surgeon wanting to pursue a career in otology. Thank you for the comprehensive description of the hook area, the insertion vectors and the Central Auditory System.

Mounika Reddy, MBBS, DNB ENT, DLO ENT
Christian Medical College , Vellore, India

Thank you sir it's been a great honor to learn from you. I have learnt a lot from all the knowledge and experience you and entire team have shared with us. Thank you very much to starting such a programme to encourage us in improving our knowledge and skills.

Muhammad Sohail Awan
Associate Professor Department of ENT Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi, Pakistan

I have found ICIT course to be a wonderful opportunity for cochlear implant surgeons started their carrier as well as those surgeons who have been doing implants for some time and want to improve their skills. Starting from the web classes which are very well organized in terms of content and delivery to the temporal bone lab., everything adds something to your knowledge and skills. I liked the concept of Compleat CI surgeon who should be knowledgeable about every aspect of the subject from basic and applied anatomy to the audiology, radiology, electronics so on and off course different surgical aspects. All these things were covered during the course.

Sudhir Kadam, MBBS & MS(ENT)
Sr. Consultant, ENT Surgeon Yashashri ENT Hospital Miraj, India

Thanks Dr. Balkany for excellent course. I feel very lucky to learn from you. You have clarified all my queries, especially the inferior vector and hook portion of the cochlea. My purpose in registering for the course has been achieved with 100% success

Nicholas Jufas, MBBS (Hons), MS, FRACS
Past: Neurotology Fellow Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia Current: Senior Clinical Lecturer University of Sidney & Macquarie University, Australia

I am able to say with certainty that this course is unique and extremely worthwhile. I already had surgical experience with a number of CIs, but this course was invaluable to take my understanding and skills to the next level.

Yamini Gupta, MS ENT, MBBS
MGM Medical College, Indore, India

Thank you so much for enhancing our knowledge. Great course.

Henrique Furlan Pauna, MD
Otolaryngologist, Univ. of Campinas, Brazil

The course is organized in a rational and very didactic way. Dr. Balkany is able to clearly and objectively approach the various aspects of cochlear implants, which makes all lectures interesting and enjoyable to watch. In addition, all the colleagues who took part in the course ask excellent questions, which complements the discussions brilliantly.

Basharat Nadeem, MS, DNB, MNAMS
Dept. of ENT Bangalore ENT Care Centre India

It was an excellent experience. Thoroughly enjoyed the course. The intricate details of cochlear implantation were covered in the module and have been put into practice now. Dr. Balkany is a blessed teacher. May God give him good health and longevity to continue this excellent program. I feel every potential CI surgeon should undergo this training. I hope to use this training to build my CI practice and benefit Society.

Dr. Nhan Le
Tu Thanh, City International Hospital Hochiminh City, Vietnam

CI is my passion and I spend most of my time learning and practicing in order to do the best things for my patients. It is the best CI training course I have ever attended…The course covers the vast subject of cochlear implantation, the way it is going is marvelous. [The Advanced Surgeon Training Course is] interesting, well taught with excellent web support.

Lam Huyen Tran, MD
University of Medicine and Pharmacy HCM City, Vietnam

Wow! I am so excited to participate in the ICIT Course. It is an excellent course! A very good program with dedicated teachers. My knowledge and my skills have been upgraded so much with new theory and techniques. I learned a lot. I am more confident in my practice and my passion: Cochlear Implant. Thank you so much for your ICIT team! I love you all.

Dr. Eleazar Eduardo Graterón Cedeño
Otology Fellow Venezuela

To every Otologist that’s is interested in the CI field, ICIT is the best place to start!!! Since the beginning of CI implantation and development five-six decades ago, all was covered by the lead instructors in the course. With all their experience, they give the participant all the pearls that one needs to succeed in the field.

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