The Mustamäe block centre is unique in Estonia, dealing with the conservative and surgical treatment of the full scope of head and neck pathology (infections, developmental anomalies, traumas, malignant tumours).
Departments and units
- Head and Neck Surgery Department
- Ear, nose and throat surgery unit
- Northern Estonia's only face and jaw surgery unit
- Estonia's only head and neck oncological surgery unit
- Head and neck surgery polyclinic
- Outpatient appointment cabinets for all fields
- Paediatric outpatient appointment cabinet for cleft lip and palate
- Speech therapy for post-operational rehabilitation of laryngectomised patients and patients of head and neck tumours
- Audiometry cabinet
The Head and Neck Surgery Centre has a staff of 62 people. The department includes a 4-patient intensive care ward, and a total of 30 patient beds, including 7 for face and jaw surgery patients, 10 for head and neck surgery patients, and 13 for ear, nose and throat surgery patients.
Our nursing personnel is trained in the specifics of head and neck area illnesses to meet our patients' needs. We have experienced oncology nurses, who can independently, or under the direction of doctors, handle patients with tracheostomy or voice prosthesis problems. The polyclinic has an outpatient surgery cabinet where procedures, endoscopic tests, balance tests and minor surgery can be conducted.
Treatment decisions are made on Tuesdays and Thursdays by a multidisciplinary council specialising on head and neck tumours, and the same council evaluates the results of treatment. The North Estonia Medical Centre is the only facility in Estonia to provide radical surgical treatment for oral cavity, pharyngeal, throat and paranasal sinuses, and to provide voice prosthesis implantation for patients who have undergone laryngectomy and treatment of related complications. In order to offer improved command of the voice prosthesis, we cooperate closely with the centre's speech therapist, Veronika Raudsalu.
We are the only service provider in northern Estonia to offer surgical treatment to patients with salivary gland tumours and cleft palate, as well as orthognathic surgery.
We provide 24/7 specialised emergency services for otolaryngology and oral and maxillofacial surgery to nearly two-thirds of northern Estonia and the island inhabitants. The majority of the face and jaw surgery patients are trauma patients, with 90% of cases caused by deliberate physical violence. The on-call duties of otolaryngology encompass the whole field's more complicated emergency pathology - severe bleeding, breathing difficulties and infections.
Since 2007, we have used a fibre-optic naso-pharyngo-laryngoscope for examining children with cleft lip and palate. This device allows physicians to determine the causes of speech problems and various throat illnesses, and to discover hidden clefts. Regarding tumour diagnostics, we have begun using the latest fibre rhinolaryngoscopy diagnostic techniques with digital storage of studies, including the cryoablation method.
The centre is a training base for the University of Tartu's medical department residents specialising in otolaryngology and mouth, face and jaw surgery. We are also a training centre for ear, nose and throat doctors, face and jaw surgeons, general practitioners, neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, plastic and reconstructive surgeons and others.
History
The Head and Neck Surgery Centre was established at the North Estonia Medical Centre on October 7, 2002, bringing together the potential of the head and neck surgery specialists of the Hiiu and Mustamäe blocks. The centre was formed by the Hiiu head and neck surgery department; the Mustamäe ear, nose and throat illnesses department; and the face and jaw surgery department. On January 1, 2011, the Head and Neck Surgery Department was transferred from Hiiu to the Mustamäe block, resulting in a joint centre for otolaryngology, and oral and maxillofacial surgery.