 
A study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) found that an estimated134 million (or 1 in 8) Indians suffer from chronic sinusitis, the symptoms of which include headaches, fever, nasal congestion and obstruction, thus making this problem more common than diabetes, asthma or coronary heart disease in India. The sinuses are air spaces behind the bones of the upper face, between the eyes and behind the forehead, nose and cheek, which help to trap and push out bacteria and pollutants.
                  Sinusitis, or rhinosinusitis as it is otherwise called, is the condition in which the lining of the sinuses becomes inflamed. Surgical therapy is mainly in the form of Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (ESS). The advent of endoscopes in sinus surgery, coupled with continuing innovation in instrumentation has resulted in Endoscopic Sinus Surgery being the mainstay of treatment for a wide variety of conditions other than sinusitis, including nasal tumor removal and the scarless treatment of excessive watering of the eyes (chronic dacryocystitis).
                  With a view to popularizing the various aspects of ESS, the Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, organized a Live Endoscopic Sinus Surgery Workshop, under the patronage of Shri M.K. Rajagopalan, Chairman, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth. 4 patients suffering from various sinus and nasal diseases underwent surgeries for the same, which were performed by Dr. P. Thulasi Das, Director, Sinus and Nose Hospital, Chennai, who is a leading authority on ESS. The programme was organized under the leadership of Organizing President, Prof. Dr. P. Karthikeyan and Organizing Secretary, Prof. Dr. V. Nirmal Coumare. The workshop was attended by 110 delegates consisting of eminent ENT surgeons from Pondicherry and Cuddalore and residents of various medical colleges. It was an excellent learning experience for all the delegates.
