History of Balkan Association of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

Meetings among the ENT colleagues (ear, nose, throat doctors) in the Balkans (the peninsula at the southeast Europa) began in the end of 1920s. The Balkan Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) was established in 1930 in Bucharest, Romania. Twelve Balkan ORL-HNS congresses have been held up to now. The first congress was organized in 1931 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Sixty-six years passed between the third and fourth Balkan Congresses. Since 2004, the congress has been held regularly every 2 years. The Balkan Association of ORL-HNS was officially registered in 2014 in Edirne, Türkiye. The member national societies/countries in alphabetical order are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Türkiye. There are over 8000 otolaryngologists in those countries who are also the natural members of the Balkan Association of ORL-HNS. This paper explains the history of the Balkan Association of ORL-HNS. With the friendly and peaceful activities of the Balkan Association of ORL-HNS, both scientific and social relationships are improved and strengthened among colleagues in the Balkan countries.