Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Henning Hildmann, who died in 2009 following a car accident, was Chairman and Director of the ENT Department of Ruhr University, Bochum from 1979 to 2005. Professor Hildmann was born in Frankfurt in 1939 and studied medicine in his native city and in Innsbruck and Dusseldorf, where he gained his doctorate in 1965. He went on to specialize in ENT under Prof. Dietrich Plester in Tubingen, Germany before becoming Assistant Professor in Kiel and Aachen. Professor Hildmann was renowned worldwide, attending conferences and delivering guest lectures in numerous institutions. He was an honorary member of the Spanish, Bolivian, Slovak, Polish, and Mongolian ENT Societies and of the otological societies of Ukraine, India, and Greece. Professor Hildmann's main clinical interests were otology, cochlear implantation, and skull base surgery and his research focused especially on middle ear pathology. He was the author or co-author of more than 200 publications, and author or editor of several books. After retirement, he was a frequent speaker and guest surgeon in numerous European and other countries. Professor Holger Sudhoff is Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Bielefeld Academic Teaching Hospital, Muenster University, Germany. He received his training at the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany with Henning Hildmann and subspecialized in skull base surgery at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University, UK with David Moffat and Robert Macfarlane. Additionally he performed research fellowships in San Diego, St. Louis, and London. After receiving his MD from the University of Bochum, he gained his Habilitation in 2001 and then obtained further qualifications in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Professor Sudhoff has received various awards, including the Anton-von-Troltsch Prize from the German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and the Politzer Prize from the Politzer Society. He is a corresponding member of the Spanish ENT society. He was appointed as Professor of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Ruhr University Bochum in 2001. Professor Sudhoff is a widely acknowledged expert in the field. He serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals and has authored more than 200 papers and book chapters. Professor Stefan Dazert has been Chairman of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany since 2005. He studied at the Universities of Antwerp (Belgium) and Erlangen-Nurnberg (Germany), graduating with a doctorate in medicine in 1990. He subsequently worked in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Wurzburg, where he became Senior Physician. In 1994-5 he undertook a Research Fellowship at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of California San Diego, USA. A postdoctoral teaching qualification in otorhinolaryngology in 1998 was followed by additional qualifications in allergology, plastic surgery, and specialized ENT surgery. Prior to his present position, Professor Dazert served as Head Physician at the Departments of Otorhinolaryngology at the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Essen. Professor Rudolf Hagen is Chairman of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Wurzburg, Germany. After receiving his MD from the University of Wurzburg, he gained his Habilitation in 1991 and then obtained further qualifications in plastic and reconstructive surgery, allergology, and phoniatrics. In 1998 he became Medical Director of the Clinic for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck, and Plastic Surgery at Katharinen Hospital in Stuttgart and moved to his current position in 2005. Professor Hagen has received various awards, including the Anton-von-Troltsch Prize from the German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. He has been Visiting Professor at the Universidad Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru and the People's University, Beijing, China and received a Doctor honoris causa from the University of Ulan Bator, Mongolia. He has been a member of various professional organizations and their committees, and has had extensive links to universities and hospitals across the world.
