Procedures

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 has now performed six 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’ often called “tonsillotomy” or an “intra-capsular tonsillectomy” - a technique that is now widely performed in the USA.

He has appeared 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. 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.

Professor Carney undertook a full-year Fellowship in Head & Neck Surgery at The Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1999 before returning to the UK and working as a Consultant in the Head & Neck Unit at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham under Professor Patrick Bradley.

He has performed over 1500 major Head & Neck procedures and special interests include parotid surgery, voice surgery (phonosurgery) and minimally-invasive (“key-hole” surgery) approaches to Head & Neck lesions.

He is trained in robotic Head & Neck surgery and performed the first Robotic Head & Neck case at Flinders Private Hospital in 2018.

He has been a Faculty member at several Head & Neck teaching courses and has hosted International Courses in Advanced Coblation Techniques at Flinders Private Hospital. To date, surgeons from over ten countries have attended these courses.

Our philosophy with respect to Head & Neck cancer is that surgery is often not the most suitable form of treatment and patients are entitled to receive information about all their various treatment options so that they can make an informed choice as to which is the most suitable treatment plan for them.

Patients with Head & Neck cancer are often anxious about new symptoms and signs that may present. We are more than happy to see patients at short notice should they have any concerns about their condition.

Professor Carney has extensive experience in the management of infections, stones (calculi) and tumours of the salivary glands. The two main salivary glands are the parotid gland which sits in front of and below the ear and the submandibular gland which sits under the jaw approximately half way between the chin and the ear lobe. Surgery on the salivary glands involves exposure of either the main trunk or a branch of the facial nerve which can alter the movement of the face. It’s therefore essential that you choose a surgeon with expertise in this area.

Professor Carney trained under Patrick Bradley in Nottingham. Professor Bradley is one of the world’s leading salivary gland surgeons and under his tuition, Professor Carney amassed a large series of procedures as a registrar and he has continued to expand his services throughout his consultant appointments. To date, he has performed over 500 operations on the parotid and submandibular glands with extremely low complication rates.

Professor Carney will be happy to discuss exactly what would be required in your case as with newer techniques, using a small endoscope passed into the salivary duct, it may be possible to remove some stones without an external scar at all. This new technique is called Sialendoscopy and is only performed in a handful of centres across Australia. We are happy to discuss what will be required for your particular circumstances.

As part of his Registrar training, Professor Carney worked with Professor Nick Jones (one of Europe’s leading sinus surgeons) in Nottingham. During this time, he developed his research interest in rhinology under Professor Jones’ supervision, receiving several research grants for his work at that time. As part of his Fellowship in New York in 1998, he received training in Rhinology and this was followed by further training in Advanced Sinus Surgery techniques under Professor PJ Wormald during his Fellowship in 1999. He has performed over 5000 sinus procedures and has taught on numerous Sinus Surgery Courses in Australia, Asia and in the UK. He has been invited as the guest keynote speaker at several sinus surgery courses and continues to be in demand as a highly regarded teacher in sinus surgery techniques.

He is a former member of the Board of ISIAN (The International Symposium on Infection and Allergy of the Nose), which is an annual conference held in rotation in all areas of the globe. He is also a regular speaker on rhinological issues to GP’s and other specialists across Australia. He works as a consultant for pharmaceutical and device companies with products that treat nasal diseases.

He received his Doctorate in Medicine in 2005 for his research thesis entitled: “Studies on Allergic and Idiopathic Rhinitis” and has received several large Australian grants for his research into the causes of rhinosinusitis.

He is a past Vice President of The Australasian Rhinological Society, is Asscociate Editor of the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy and on the Editorial Board of "Rhinology".

His approach to chronic rhinosinusitis is that many patients can be managed with medical treatment without the need to resort to sinus surgery. If medical management fails, sinus surgery may be required but this can often be conservative in its nature. Conservative sinus surgery ensures that the trauma and risks from surgery are minimised, allowing patients to return to normal function as soon as possible.

Professor Carney has several research publications on Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Surgery, several of which were performed in conjunction with the late Dr Sam Robinson and Prof Nick Antic. Professor Carney is undertaking to continue sleep surgery research and was the lead ENT surgeon on a recent randomised trial on sleep surgery. Minimally invasive techniques to improve or cure snoring and sleep apnoea have now been developed. These techniques include modification of the UVPP technique which reduces pain, and Coblation tongue based channelling. This new technique uses fine probes to reduce the bulk of the tongue base, produce controlled areas of scarring and has been demonstrated to have extremely good success rates with minimal morbidity, pain and complications. Professor Carney chaired a working party on snoring and sleep apnoea surgery at The Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery and is involved in numerous multi centre research projects with other leading sleep apnoea surgeons throughout Australia.

He is one of a handful of Australian ENT surgeons offering Robotic Sleep Surgery. Please discuss whether the Robot is suitable for your case.

Prior to your appointment, it is extremely helpful if the patients have received a formal assessment of their sleep and snoring (a sleep study). This can either be performed in your own home or in a laboratory. If you have had one of these assessments, it is essential that we have the results to hand at the time of your consultation as this will determine which method of treatment we recommend. Please check with your GP or referring specialist that this data is available prior to your consultation.

The most effective treatment for snoring and sleep apnoea remains a CPAP mask. Surgery is only indicated for patients who are either unable to tolerate CPAP or other reasons why they cannot use this treatment modality. Mandibular advancement splints may also be appropriate for a proportion of patients. The use of CPAP and/or a Mandibular Advancement Splint may provide you with an effective treatment without the need to resort to surgery. Please discuss these options with Professor Carney at your consultation.

Professor Carney has both a clinical and research interest in nasal allergy. He is a member of the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy and has been a faculty member at their annual conference as well as being involved in the local group within South Australia. As part of his research, he has published many papers on nasal allergy and regularly collaborates with investigators both interstate and overseas.

As such, we are able to treat patients with complex nasal disease with a wide variety of new pharmacological agents which may not have previously been used in your case. Please feel free to ask us about alternative treatments for nasal allergy. Surgery is only ever required in a limited number of cases but by reducing the inferior turbinates, the symptoms of nasal allergy can also be significantly reduced.