Paediatric surgery/tonsils

Professor Carney undertook his first trial into tonsillectomy techniques as a junior Doctor in 1992. He has maintained his interest in Paediatric ENT and tonsil surgery ever since. He is currently the Paediatric liaison ENT surgeon at Flinders Medical Centre. He has now performed over four clinical trials into tonsillectomy techniques and is recognised as a world expert in minimally invasive tonsil surgery. He is one of only a handful of ENT surgeons in Australia offering “subtotal tonsil reduction surgery” (PITA) – a technique that is now widely performed in the USA. His publications include The Australian Coblation Tonsillectomy Audit which he co-ordinated in 2006.

He has appeared on TV, radio and on various discussion panels on Tonsillectomy and has received several research grants for his research into adenoid and tonsil disease in children. He routinely uses radiofrequency Coblation for both total and sub-total tonsil surgery and the evidence from his research has demonstrated it minimises post-operative pain in days 1-3 and significantly reduces the risk of tonsil haemorrhage in the first 24 hours following surgery.

The data on secondary bleeding (later on in the recovery period) remains controversial but our personal data analysis has confirmed that our secondary haemorrhage rates are currently lower than those obtained with other heat driven tonsillectomy methods.

His paper on “Tonsillectomy techniques and the learning-curve” when surgeons change their technique was presented at The American Academy of Otolaryngology (USA).  His presentation was summarised on the front page of the meeting newsletter and its conclusions highlighted his talk as one of the important messages emanating from the conference.

For Professor Carney’s Key Paediatric & Tonsillectomy Publications / Presentations click here