Dr Julia Crawford

Dr Julia Crawford is an Australian-trained Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon with subspecialist expertise in head and neck cancer surgery, benign head and neck conditions, robotic surgery, and the surgical management of snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea. She is also experienced in the management of nasal disease, thyroid and salivary gland surgery, and paediatric ENT conditions. She is among a small number of Fellowship-trained Robotic Head and Neck Surgeons in Australia.

Dr Crawford completed her Bachelor of Science with Honours at the University of New South Wales in 2004 before undertaking medical training in New South Wales. In 2012, she was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. Following this, she undertook subspecialty training as a Clinical Fellow in Sleep Surgery at Wollongong Hospital under Professor Stuart MacKay.

She then travelled to the United States to complete a two-year Fellowship in Advanced Head and Neck Surgery, Robotic and Reconstructive Surgery at Celebration Health, Orlando, Florida, under Professor J. Scott Magnuson and Associate Professor Hilliary White. During this fellowship, she gained extensive training in robotic surgical techniques for both cancer and obstructive sleep apnoea and contributed to training other surgeons in these procedures.

Dr Crawford is actively involved in surgical education and training. On returning to Australia, she co-established the St Vincent’s Head and Neck Surgery Cadaver Course. She was also a co-founder and course director for the International Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Course in Orlando, Florida for 10 years. She is currently the surgical education and training (SET) supervisor and Director of Undergraduate Education for ENT/Head and Neck Surgery at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse. Dr Crawford is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and a conjoint lecturer at the University of New South Wales. 

In addition to her clinical practice and teaching roles, Dr Crawford has published extensively on the use of robotic surgery in head and neck cancer and regularly contributes to international training programs and educational events. She also holds leadership positions within the profession, including President of the Australian and New Zealand Head and Neck Cancer Society and Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Councillor on the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Council. She is the current Head of Department for ENT/Head and Neck Surgery at St Vincent's Public and Private Hospitals.