On Thursday, May 11, a team of faculty and trainees from Mass Eye and Ear, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute hosted a New England Journal of Medicine clinicalpathological conference (CPC) inside the Meltzer Auditorium at Mass Eye and Ear Grand Rounds.
CPCs are regularly published by the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading medical journal in the United States, as Case Records of Massachusetts General Hospital. The conferences are best known for a one-of-a-kind educational experience to medical trainees and faculty in attendance. During a typical conference, a rare case is presented, basic lab and imaging reports are assessed and those in attendance are encouraged to formulate a diagnosis.
The CPC was led by Rahmatullah Wais Rahmati, MD, MPH, FACS, a surgeon at Mass Eye and Ear and a Member of the Faculty in OHNS at Harvard Medical School, who was accompanied by Rosh K. Sethi, MD, MPH, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of OHNS at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sethi presented on behalf of Mark A. Varvares, MD, FACS, Chief of OHNS at Mass Eye and Ear and Chair of OHNS at Harvard Medical School, who had led treatment of the examined case.
In collaboration with Dr. Rahmati and Margaret Mitchell, MD, an OHNS resident at Mass Eye and Ear, Dr. Varvares was responsible for bringing the case to the New England Journal of Medicine and organizing the event inside the Meltzer Auditorium.
Among those in attendance were Kathy May Tran, Associate Editor of New England Journal of Medicine Case Records, as well as the case subject, a young woman diagnosed with a rare form of head and neck cancer in her late 20s. Toward the end of the presentation, the patient offered her perspective on the case, gave thanks to her care team and asked physicians and surgeons to continue emphasizing the importance of building trust with their patients.
"It is an honor to share our case with one of the world’s most prestigious academic journals, as well as to the wider medical community,” said Dr. Rahmati. “It’s essential for physicians and surgeons to exemplify how the next generation of care providers should uphold a culture of trust and compassion when treating patients.”