Like any other branch, development of ENT speciality in Bihar is linked with the development of medical education in Bihar. To begin with, the medical needs of Bihar and Orissa were looked after by medical schools established in 1874 at Patna and Cuttack giving licentiate certificates.
 
When Temple Medical School, Patna was shifted to Darbhanga in 1925, Prince of Wales Medical College was founded in 1925. Then ENT was not a separate speciality, and the General Surgeons used to perform whatever took their fancy. Tonsillectomy was performed but was not relished specially when there was bleeding. Due to lack of antibiotics and safe anaeshesia, it was no less hazardous.
 
In Bihar, ENT had a separate identity when Dr. S.N. Ghosh was appointed as a lecturer in the speciality in 1925 under the Department of General Surgery. Subsequently an independent combined department of Eye and ENT was created with Dr. (Capt.) M. Husnain F.R.C.S., D.L.O. as the founder Professor in 1938. Meanwhile Dr. Dukhan Ram after graduation from Calcutta Medical College joined the department, first as a House Surgeon and subsequently as a lecturer. He was selected for post-graduation in U.K. by Government of Bihar and returned to the department, having obtained his D.L.O. and D.O. from London in 1939. He took over as Professor and Head of Eye and ENT Department at Patna Medical College in 1944 due to sudden demise of Prof. Husnain. Meanwhile Dr. D. Ram invited Dr. Paras Nath Sinha who has obtained his D.L.O., D.O. from London, to join the department in an honorary capacity. Dr. P.N.Sinha subsequently became a Lecturer, Clinical Prof. and finally succeeded Dr. D. Ram as Prof. and Head of Eye and ENT department on the latters elevation as Vice-Chancellor of Bihar University (whole of Bihar except Patna proper) in 1957.

Darbhanga Medical School was upgraded to Medical College in 1946 thanks to the efforts of the then Health Minister Pt. Binodanand Jha. The third Medical College in Bihar, at Ranchi was opened in 1960 during the tenure of Dr. Ram as Vice-Chancellor. He was instrumental in sowing the seeds of medical colleges at Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur. Meanwhile, with keen interest of Dr. Sharma, a private practitioner, a private medical college was opened at Jamshedpur in 1961. Similarly with the combined efforts of Late Dr. V.N. Singh and Late Dr. Madhusudan Das, Nalanda Medical College sprung up at Patna in 1970. Patliputra Medical College as a private endeavour opened at Patna in 1970 was subsequently shifted to Dhanbad on Government take over. Thus from one Medical College in 1925 there are presently nine Government Medical Colleges in Bihar admitting nearly 550 aspiring doctors every year, besides two private medical colleges at Katihar and Kishanganj. Even then the demand is such that every year a number of students from Bihar is getting admitted to medical colleges in other states specially South India. Not only that, they are even proceeding to countries in erstwhile U.S.S.R. besides U.K., U.S.A., and Australia.

To begin with surgery in Eye and ENT was confined to Cataract and Glaucoma in Eye, and Tonsillectomy, simple Mastoidectomy, S.M.R. and occasional removal of foreign body in G.I. and respiratory passages. Gradually as the department came into independent being, and more and more surgeons and foreign qualified specialists joined the department, more varied and sophisticated surgery started to be performed Dr. D. Ram’s Radical Mastoidectomy without the use of electric drill and operating microscope was something to be seen to be believed. His teaching under Prof. Lambert in London was demonstrated in all its glory. Dr. P.N.Sinha demonstrated Attico-antrostomy for the first time. Dr. Sinha had the unusual knack of utilising the expertise and experience of fresh foreign trained specialists for the benefit of his house surgeons and post-graduates, and thus helped in raising the standard of services to the patients. Between the years 1955 and 1959, Dr. Chhedi Chowdhary, Dr. G.P. Kesri, Dr. C.D. Sinha, Dr. J.N. Rohatgi, Dr. A. Sinha and Dr. Sharda Prasad Sinha returned to Bihar after obtaining foreign diploma/degree and gave the benefit of their training to the local budding specialists. Dr. P.N. Sinha obtained the new ZEISS operating microscope for the department in 1954 as also the electric dental drill.

In keeping with the needs of the day, M.S. (Eye) and M.S. (ENT) courses were thrown open to aspiring doctors. First M.S. (ENT) recipient was none other than Dr. Anjani Kumar Sinha who later held the chair of Professor and Head on retirement of Prof. P.N. Sinha in 1960. The name and fame of the speciality rose to such a level that students even from other states started joining the department for P.G. One such example was Dr. S.N. Jain of Hyderabad who joined M.S. (ENT) course here after his return from Canada and U.S.A. He later returned to his state and retired as Prof. & Head of ENT Department at Osmania University, Hyderabad. There came a number of P.G. students from Orissa who on return became H.O.D. in their colleges in due course. The post graduates from this institution always obtained prize posts in different parts of India and abroad. D.L.O. and D.O. Courses were opened for the first time in 1956, thanks to the combined efforts of Dr. D. Ram and Dr. Dr. P.N. Sinha. The writer has the proud privilege of being the first D.L.O. of Patna University in 1957 along with Dr. H.C. Bahri, presently attached to Batra Hospital, Delhi, after a long stint in Libya. Presently M.S. and D.L.O. are conferred at Patna, Darbhanga and Ranchi.

The year 1955 was landmark as regards to the progress in the ENT speciality is concerned. The writer has the proud privilege of being the House Surgeon in the department during the year. The first Total Laryngectomy was performed on a British national married to an Indian and settled near Gorakhpur. The team of doctors under Dr. P.N. sinha comprising Dr. G.P.Kesri, Dr. A.K. Sinha, Dr. C. Chaudhary and Dr. S. Nazre Imam, performed the marathon surgery in seven hours. Similarly the first fenestration surgery was performed on a lady from Bhagalpur district by the same team. Two cases of Lingual Thyroid were operated during the same period. The operating microscope was acquired during this period. There was no audiometer in the department. One evening we were taken to the residence of Dr. P.N. Sinha to learn hearing evaluation by Dr. S.N. Jain on Dr. Sinha’s own Amplivox audiometer. The method was demonstrated on the ears of the writer. Similarly, Caloric tests were demonstrated to us for the first time by Dr. G.P. Kesri on return from U.K. Dr. Samuel Rosen visited Patna in 1959 and demonstrated his technique of Stapes mobilisation. He had inadvertantly mobilised the Stapes during routine inspection of middle ear during tympanotomy in New York’s Mount Sinar Hospital in 1952. Dr. A. Sinha had helped Dr. Rosen during demonstration at Patna and Gwalior during the All India ENT Surgeons Conference under the Presidentship of Dr. P.N. Sinha. Dr. Sharda Prasad Sinha also returned to Patna during the same period. Both Dr. A. Sinha and Dr. S.P. Sinha demonstrated the latest techniques in Microsurgery of the ear. Needless to say, this was a peak period of the speciality at Patna and Bihar. Patients not only from all over Bihar but also neighbouring states and even from Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan were coming here a for specialised treatment. Not only Dr. Rosen but Dr. Plester from West Germany, Dr. Portman from France and few others from West visited Patna and demonstrated their techniques. We owe Dr. P.N. Sinha for all these benefits and we can justifiably name him as “Father of ENT in Bihar”.

For the proper development of the ENT speciality, it was essential to separate the department of Eye and ENT in this regard though the efforts started as early as 1957, the first success came only in 1969 with Dr. A. Sinha returning to his Bihar cadre after leaving the prestigious post of founder Professor and Head of ENT Department of A.I.I.M.S., New Delhi and joining as Professor and Head of ENT Department at Ranchi Medical College. He promoptly procured ZEISS operating microscope for the hospital and arranged the visit of Dr. Sheehy from House Institute, Los Angles. Late Dr. C.D. Sinha took over in similar capacity at Darbhanga. The separation at Patna took even longer time since the Patna Medical College was under the administrative control of Patna University. The credit of separation of ENT and Eye Department should go to Dr. A. Sinha.
The members of the speciality were quite active on All India platform also. Dr. Dukhan Ram was one of the founder members of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India formed in 1947 at Madras under the Presidentship of Dr. P.V. Cherian. The first All India Conference of A.O.I. was held at Patna in 1952 under Presidentship of Dr. Satyaban Roy of Calcutta. The second concerence was organised by Dr. M.M. Nath at Jamshedpur in 1956 when Dr. (Major) K.K. Ghosh was the President. The writer had the privilege of attending this conference for the first time as a P.G. student along with others. The third annual conference was organised by Dr. S.P. Sinha at Nalanda Medical College, Patna in 1981. Dr. D. Ram presided the All India Conference at Hyderabad in 1953, Dr. P.N. Sinha at Gwalior in 1959 and Dr. A. Sinha at Nagpur in 1979.

Presently, all the medical colleges have separated ENT department. Not only that all District Hospitals within the state are supposed to have an ENT Surgeon. But, the progress in the speciality has of late shown stagnation. We should not sit on past glory. It is time we the older generation join hands with the newer generation to bring back the speciality its pristine glory.
Long Live the Speciality

This association was registered in 1952 and has been functioning from then.