With great pleasure and honor, I would like to announce that the 9th International Conference on Cholesteatoma and Ear Surgery will be held on 3-7 June 2012 in Nagasaki, Japan. As you are well aware, this conference has a magnificent history, ever since it began more than 30 years ago.
I will make every effort to make the conference as fruitful as possible in every aspect. I would like to include various kinds of academic sessions such as instruction courses, temporal bone dissection courses, special lectures, symposia, panel discussions, etc., by inviting extinguished researchers and clinicians from all over the world. As a matter of course, many poster and oral presentations of free papers are very much welcome. The included topics are epidemiology, pathogenesis, pathology, physiology and pathophysiology, cholesteatoma in children, petrous apex cholesteatoma, diagnosis, prophylaxis, medical treatment, surgeries, and sequelae among others.
For all the participants, particularly the younger ones who are flying great distances at great expenses, we are trying to lower the registration fee as much as possible, and will not make it mandatory for them to register on an \"all included\" or a \"one-by-one-order\" basis, so that these participants are able to select their favorite entertainment and social programs.
Please allow me to give you a brief introduction of Nagasaki. Nagasaki is blessed with many historical places and attractions, because at one time, Nagasaki was the only port in Japan that was permitted to trade with western countries. This unique situation brought Nagasaki tremendous and characteristic progress in terms of civilization, culture, and religion. You can find many beautiful structures that elegantly fuse western and Japanese cultures. Further, Nagasaki has many islands, where you will find beautiful churches, breath-taking scenery, and fantastic resort facilities; all of these are a mere two hours away. In Nagasaki, we always pray for peace, and there are many structures remembering the tragedy of the atomic bombing in World War II, such as a memorial statue, a park, and a museum.
We are very much looking forward to your participation, and eagerly await you in Nagasaki in 2012.
