For Patients and Visitors
What is the Service?
The Endocrine system in the body is made up of a group of glands that secrete hormones that regulate a range of functions in our body.
Endocrine Surgery refers to surgery on these glands – namely the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands and the adrenal gland.
What can I expect from the service?
The Endocrine Surgery Unit at Northern Health performs surgery for patients with surgical conditions of the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands as well as surgical disorders of the salivary glands
The Endocrine Surgery Unit holds weekly outpatient clinics at The Northern Hospital, Epping where patients with surgical conditions of the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands are assessed. If surgery is required, patients are placed on a waiting list which is prioritised according to the urgency of the condition. An interpreter service is available but must be booked in advance.
We will also send a letter to your GP informing them of our treatment plans.
How to refer to the service
A referral is required. Please visit your GP clinic
What do I bring/need for my appointment?
Please bring with you or have available the following items:-
- Your Medicare Card
- Referral letter from your GP – with name and address of your GP
- An accurate list of medications that you take including any allergies that you may have
- All investigations eg Xrays films or CD and all blood test results
Contact us
Phone: 8405 8335
Email: SpecialistClinics@nh.org.au
For Health Professionals
Service Overview
The Endocrine Surgery Unit (Surgical 3 Unit) at The Northern Hospital accepts referrals regarding surgical endocrine disorders of the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal glands and surgical disorders of salivary glands.
Surgical operations we offer include minimally invasive parathyroid and thyroid surgery, cervical lymph node dissections and laparoscopic adrenalectomies.
The Endocrine Surgery Unit is represented by Mr Steve Manolas, Mr Ernest Lim and Dr Betty Lai and is supported by a Surgical Fellow, a Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Accredited Surgical Registrar and 2 Interns.
We are actively involved in teaching at an undergraduate level (University of Melbourne) as well as postgraduate level under the auspices of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ Surgical Education and Training (SET) programme.
We work closely with our medical Endocrinology colleagues and hold regular Multidisciplinary Meetings to discuss management of cases particularly malignant endocrine conditions.
We routinely use the Intraoperative Nerve Integrity Monitor (NIM) and energy devices (Harmonic Scalpel/Ligasure) in all our cases.
Using a comprehensive database of our procedures, we also actively audit and appraise our surgical outcomes.
Inclusion Criteria
We welcome all referrals in relation to surgical disorders of the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and salivary glands.
How to refer
All referrals to Northern Health should be sent to:
Fax: 8405-8616
All referrals must include:-
- Referral letter with patient details, reason for referral and relevant history
- Relevant investigations eg Ultrasound, Thyroid Function Tests, CT, FNA (if applicable)
For detailed referral criteria and required supporting information please see HealthPathways Melbourne via the link below:
HealthPathways Melbourne – Endocrine
