ABOUT DR ARDALAN EBRAHIMI

DR ARDALAN EBRAHIMI

Canberra Head and Neck Surgery is the practice of Dr Ardalan Ebrahimi. Ardalan is an experienced fellowship trained specialist Head and Neck surgeon based in Canberra. His practice is focused solely on head and neck surgery to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. He has expertise in thyroid and parathyroid surgery, parotid and submandibular gland surgery, head and neck cancer, skin cancer, transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for throat cancer, reconstructive surgery for patients with facial paralysis and microvascular reconstructive surgery in the head and neck. He offers minimally invasive surgery of the thyroid, parathyroid and parotid glands as well as tonsil and tongue base cancer, with a focus on maintaining function and quality of life while also optimising cosmetic outcomes after surgery.

Raised in Perth, Western Australia, Ardalan studied medicine and graduated with honours at the University of Western Australia before moving to Sydney for further training. He developed a strong interest in Head and Neck Surgery during general surgical training, which he completed in 2009 being awarded Fellowship of The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS). Ardalan went on to complete advanced fellowship training at the Sydney Head & Neck Cancer Institute in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, in thyroid and parathyroid surgery, head and neck cancer surgery and microvascular reconstruction. He then sought to further his training and skills in the United States, undertaking a Mayo Clinic Fellowship in head and neck surgical oncology and microvascular reconstruction. Whilst at the Mayo, he was trained in transoral robotic surgery (TORS) by leading surgeons who helped pioneer the technique internationally.

Whilst in the US, Dr Ebrahimi obtained a Masters degree in Public Health (MPH) at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, to further his work in head and neck cancer research. He has authored numerous research publications, is a regular reviewer for highly regarded scientific journals and he and his research team regularly present their work on thyroid, skin and oral cancer at national and international meetings. He was a lead investigator in the International Consortium for Outcome Research (ICOR) in Head and Neck Cancer, with his research culminating in changes to the latest edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for oral cancer.

After working as a consultant head and neck surgeon for a number of years in Sydney, Ardalan moved to Canberra to give him more time to spend with his wife and two beautiful young children and to cheer on his footy team. He sees all patients in his private rooms in National Capital Private Hospital where he also operates. He treats patients undergoing major head and neck cancer surgery with microvascular reconstruction in collaboration with colleagues at The Canberra Hospital and participates in the Head and Neck Cancer and Thyroid Cancer Multidisciplinary Teams (MDT) to ensure his patients receive comprehensive, evidence based care. Dr Ebrahimi established the transoral robotic surgery (TORS) program at National Capital Private Hospital in 2018 to offer patients with throat cancer in Canberra and surrounding regions a minimally invasive surgical option.

CONDITIONS TREATED

CHARITY WORK

Ardalan is also a co-founder of Head & Neck Cancer Australia (formerly known as Beyond Five), Australia’s first dedicated head and neck cancer charity established in 2016 to support patients with head and neck cancer by providing comprehensive, reliable and easily accessible information to help them in their cancer journey. He resigned from the board of directors in 2023.

RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS

Thyroid Cancer Research

Abraham E, Roshan D, Tran B, Wykes J, Campbell P, Ebrahimi A. The extent of extrathyroidal extension is a key determinant of prognosis in T4a papillary thyroid cancer. J Surg Oncol. 2019 Aug 26. doi: 10.1002/jso.25683. [Pubmed Link]
Abraham E, Roshan D, Tran B, Graham S, Lehane C, Wykes J, Campbell P, Ebrahimi A. Microscopic positive margins strongly predict reduced disease- free survival in pT4a papillary thyroid cancer. Head Neck. 2019 Mar 12. doi: 10.1002/hed.25730.  [Pubmed Link]
Abraham E, Tran B, Roshan D, Graham S, Lehane C, Wykes J, Campbell P, Ebrahimi A. Response to Re: Microscopic positive margins in papillary thyroid cancer do not impact disease recurrence. ANZ J Surg. 2018 Nov;88(11):1212- 1213. doi: 10.1111/ans.14799.  [Pubmed Link]
Tran B, Roshan D, Abraham E, Wang L, Garibotto N, Wykes J, Campbell P, Ebrahimi A. The prognostic impact of tumor size in papillary thyroid carcinoma is modified by age. Thyroid. 2018 Jul 30. doi: 10.1089/thy.2017.0607.  [Pubmed Link}
Abraham E, Tran B, Roshan D, Graham S, Lehane C, Wykes J, Campbell P, Ebrahimi A. Microscopic positive margins in papillary thyroid cancer do not impact disease recurrence. ANZ J Surg. 2018 Apr 27. doi: 10.1111/ans.14490. [Pubmed Link]
Tran B, Roshan D, Abraham E, Wang L, Garibotto N, Wykes J, Campbell P, Ebrahimi A. An analysis of the American Joint Committee on Cancer 8th edition T staging system for papillary thyroid carcinoma. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Jun 1;103(6):2199-2206. doi: 10.1210/jc.2017-02551. [Pubmed Link]
Forest VI, Clark JR, Ebrahimi A, et al. Central compartment dissection in thyroid papillary carcinoma. Ann Surg 2011; 253(1): 123-30. [Pubmed Link]

Skin Cancer Research

Hasmat S, Ebrahimi A, Luk PP, Low TH, McDowell L, Magarey MJR, Veness M, Gupta R, Clark J. Positive survival trend in metastatic head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma over four-decades: Multicenter study. Head Neck. 2019 Aug 12. doi: 10.1002/hed.25912. [Pubmed Link]
Sood A, Wykes J, Roshan D, Wang LY, McGuinness J, Forstner D, Fowler A, Lee M, Kernohan M, Ngo Q, Estall V, Ebrahimi A. Number of nodal metastases and prognosis in metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. ANZ J Surg. 2019 Apr 11. doi: 10.1111/ans.15086.  [Pubmed Link]
Sood A, Wykes J, Roshan D, Wang LY, McGuinness J, Fowler A, Ebrahimi A. A critical analysis of the prognostic performance of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging for metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Head Neck. 2019 Jan 19. doi: 10.1002/hed.25599. [Pubmed Link]
Liu J, Ebrahimi A, Low TH, Gao K, Palme CE, Sydney C, Ashford BG, Iyer NG, Clark JR, Gupta R. Predictive value of the 8th edition American Joint Commission Cancer (AJCC) nodal staging system for patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. J Surg Oncol. 2017 Oct 19. doi:10.1002/jso.24883. [Pubmed Link]
Kelder W, Ebrahimi A, Forest V, Gao K, Murali R, Clark J. Cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with regional metastases: the prognostic importance of soft tissue metastases and extranodal spread. Annals Surgical Oncology 2012;19(1):274-9. [Pubmed Link]
McLean T, Brunner M, Ebrahimi A, Gao K, Ch’ng S, Veness MJ, Clark J. Concurrent primary and metastatic cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: analysis of prognostic factor. Head Neck 2012; doi:10.1002/hed.23102. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Clark JR, Ahmadi N, Palme CE, Morgan GJ, Veness MJ. The prognostic significance of disease-free interval in head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma with nodal metastases. Head Neck 2012: doi: 10.1002/hed.23096. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Lorincz B, Clark JR, Christopher Milross, Michael Veness. Metastatic head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: defining a low-risk patient. Head Neck 2012;34(3):365-70. [Pubmed Link]

Head & Neck Cancer Research

Hasmat S, Ebrahimi A, Gao K, Low TH, Palme C, Gupta R, Clark J. Multifocal perineural invasion is a better prognosticator than depth of invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Head Neck. 2019 Sep 5. doi: 10.1002/hed.25940. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Gil Z, Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Köhler HF, Kreppel M, Cernea CR, Brandao J, Bachar G, Villaret AB, Fliss DM, Fridman E, Robbins KT, Shah JP, Patel SG, Clark JR. International Consortium for Outcome Research (ICOR) in Head and Neck Cancer. Depth of invasion alone as an indication for postoperative radiotherapy in small oral squamous cell carcinomas: An International Collaborative Study. Head Neck. 2019 Jun;41(6):1935-1942. doi: 10.1002/hed.25633.  [Pubmed Link]
Moeckelmann N, Ebrahimi A, Tou YK, Gupta R, Low TH, Ashford B, Ch’ng S, Palme CE, Clark JR. Prognostic implications of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. Oral Oncol. 2018 Oct;85:82-86. doi:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2018.08.013. Epub 2018 Sep 4.  [Pubmed Link]
Lai K, Matthews S, Wilmott JS, Killingsworth MC, Yong JL, Caixeiro NJ, Wykes J, Samakeh A, Forstner D, Lee M, McGuinness J, Niles N, Hong A, Ebrahimi A, Lee CS. Differences in LC3B expression and prognostic implications in oropharyngeal and oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma patients. BMC Cancer. 2018 Jun 1;18(1):624. doi: 10.1186/s12885-018-4536-x.  [Pubmed Link]
Fridman E, Na’ara S, Agarwal J, Amit M, Bachar G, Villaret AB, Brandao J, Cernea CR, Chaturvedi P, Clark J, Ebrahimi A, Fliss DM, Jonnalagadda S, Kohler HF, Kowalski LP, Kreppel M, Liao CT, Patel SG, Patel RS, Robbins KT, Shah JP, Shpitzer T, Yen TC, Zöller JE, Gil Z; International Consortium for Outcome Research in Head and Neck Cancer. The role of adjuvant treatment in early-stage oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: an international collaborative study. Cancer. 2018 Jul 15;124(14):2948-2955. doi: 10.1002/cncr.31531. Epub 2018 May 14. [Pubmed Link]
Jabbour J, Wykes J, Milross C, Sundaresan P, Ebrahimi A, Shepherd HL, Dhillon HM, Clark JR. Examining clinicians’ perceptions of head and neck cancer (HNC) information. Asia Pac J Clin Oncol. 2018 Mar 2. doi: 10.1111/ajco.12858. [Pubmed Link]
Moeckelmann N, Ebrahimi A, Dirven R, Liu J, Low TH, Gupta R, Ashford B, Ch’ng S, Palme CE, Clark JR. Analysis and Comparison of the 8th Edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Nodal Staging System in Cutaneous and Oral Squamous Cell Cancer of the Head and Neck. Ann Surg Oncol. 2018 Jan 19. doi: 10.1245/s10434-018-6340-x. [Pubmed Link]
Dirven R, Ebrahimi A, Moeckelmann N, Palme C, Gupta R, Clark J. Tumor thickness versus depth of invasion – Analysis of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging for oral cancer. Oral Oncology. 2017; 74:30-33. [Pubmed Link]
Lai K, Killingsworth M, Yong J, Matthews S, Ebrahimi A, McGuinness J, Ngo Q, Caixeiro N, Hong A, Lee CS. Specific localization of LC3B in autophagosome: A correlative labelling study with nanoparticle in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Exp Mol Pathol. 2017 Jun;102(3):422-427. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2017.05.007. [Pubmed Link]
Jabbour J, Milross C, Sundaresan P, Ebrahimi A, Shepherd HL, Dhillon HM, Morgan G, Ashford B, Abdul-Razak M, Wong E, Veness M, Palme CE, Froggatt C, Cohen R, Ekmejian R, Tay J, Roshan D, Clark JR. Education and support needs in patients with head and neck cancer: A multi-institutional survey. Cancer. 2017 Jan 12. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30535. [Pubmed Link]
Li MK, Niles N, Gore S, Ebrahimi A, McGuinness J, Clark JR. Social perception of morbidity in facial nerve paralysis. Head Neck. 2016 Aug; 38(8):1158-63. doi: 10.1002/hed.24299. [Pubmed Link]
Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Kohler HF, Ebrahimi A, Clark JR, Cernea CR, Brandao SJ, Kreppel M, Zöller J, Fliss MD, Bachar G, Shpitzer T, Bolzoni VA, Patel PR, Jonnalagadda S, Robbins KT, Iyer NG, Skanthakumar T, Shah JP, Patel SG, Gil Z. Prognostic Performance of Current Stage III Oral Cancer Patients After Curative Intent Resection: Evidence to Support a Revision of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging System. Ann Surg Oncol. 2015 Aug 28. [Pubmed Link]
Habib M, Murgasen J, Gao K, Ashford B, Shannon K, Ebrahimi A, Clark JR. Contralateral neck failure in lateralized oral squamous cell carcinoma. ANZ J Surg. 2015 Jul 3. doi: 10.1111/ans.13206. [Pubmed Link]
Ong W, Zhao R, Lui B, Tan W, Ebrahimi A, Clark JR, Soo KC, Tan NC, Tan HK, Iyer NG. Prognostic significance of lymph node density in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Head Neck. 2015 Apr 27. doi: 10.1002/hed.24113. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Aivazian K, Low TH, Gao K, Clifford A, Shannon K, Clark JR, Gupta R. Perineural invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma: Quantitative subcategorisation of perineural Invasion and prognostication. J Surg Onc 2014; doi: 10.1002/jso.23821. [Pubmed Link]
Balasubramanian D, Ebrahimi A, Gupta R, Gao K, Elliott M, Palme CE, Clark JR. Tumour thickness as a predictor of nodal metastases in oral cancer: comparison between tongue and floor of mouth subsites. Oral Oncol 2014; doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2014.09.012. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Gil Z, Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Kreppel M, Cernea CR, Brandao SJ, Bachar G, Bolzoni Villaret A, Fliss D, Fridman E, Robbins KT, Shah JP, Patel SG, Clark JR. A Comparison of the American Joint Committee on Cancer N1 versus N2a Nodal Categories for Predicting Survival and Recurrence in Patients With Oral Cancer: Time to Acknowledge an Arbitrary Distinction and Modify the System. Head & Neck 2014; doi: 10.1002/hed.23871. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Gil Z, Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Kreppel M, Cernea CR, Brandao SJ, Bachar G, Bolzoni Villaret A, Fliss D, Fridman E, Robbins KT, Shah JP, Patel SG, Clark JR. Minimum nodal yield in oral squamous cell carcinoma: defining the standard of care in a multicenter international pooled validation study. Ann Surg Oncol 2014; doi: 10.1245/s10434-014-3702-x. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Gil Z, Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Kreppel M, Cernea CR, Brandao SJ, Bachar G, Bolzoni Villaret A, Fliss D, Fridman E, Robbins KT, Shah JP, Patel SG, Clark JR. Primary Tumor Staging for Oral Cancer and a Proposed Modification Incorporating Depth of Invasion: An International Multicenter Retrospective Study. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2014; doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2014.1548. [Pubmed Link]
Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Kohler HF, Ebrahimi A, Clark JR, Cernea CR, Brandao JS, Kreppel M, Zöller JE, Leider- Trejo L, Bachar G, Shpitzer T, Bolzoni AV, Patel RP, Jonnalagadda S, Robbins TK, Shah JP, Patel SG, Gil Z. The Origin of Regional Failure in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma With Pathologically Negative Neck Metastases. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2014; doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2014.1539. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Gil Z, Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Kreppel M, Cernea CR, Brandao SJ, Bachar G, Bolzoni Villaret A, Fliss D, Fridman E, Robbins KT, Shah JP, Patel SG, Clark JR. The prognosis of N2b and N2c nodal disease in oral cancer is determined by the number of metastatic nodes rather than laterality: Evidence to support a revision of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system. Cancer 2014. [Pubmed Link]
Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Ebrahimi A, Clark JR,Kreppel M, Zöller J, Fridman E, Bolzoni VA, Shah JP, Binenbaum Y, Patel SG, Gil Z. The International Consortium for Outcome Research (ICOR) in Head and Neck Cancer. Improvement in survival of patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: an international collaborative study. Cancer 2013; doi: 10.1002/cncr.28357. [Pubmed Link]
Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Binenbaum Y, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Ebrahimi A, Clark JR, Cernea CR, Brandao SJ, Kreppel M, Zöller J, Fliss D, Bachar G, Shpitzer T, Bolzoni VA, Patel PR, Jonnalagadda S, Robbins KT, Shah JP, Patel SG, Gil Z. Clinical Nodal Stage is a Significant Predictor of Outcome in Patients with Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Pathologically Negative Neck Metastases: The International Consortium for Outcome Research (ICOR) in Head and Neck Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 2013;20(11):3575-81. [Pubmed Link]
Gil Z, Amit M, Yen TC, Liao CT, Binenbaum Y, Chaturvedi P, Agarwal JP, Kowalski LP, Ebrahimi A, Clark JR, Cernea CR, Brandao SJ, Kreppel M, Zöller J, Fliss D, Bachar G, Shpitzer T, Bolzoni VA, Patel PR, Jonnalagadda S, Robbins KT, Shah JP, Patel SG. Lymph node density in oral cavity cancer: result of the International Consortium for Outcome Research. Br J Cancer 2013;109(8):2087-95. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Murali R, Elliott M, Clark J. The prognostic and staging implications of bone invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer 2011;117(19):4460-7. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Ashford BA, Clark JR. Improved survival with elective neck dissection in thick early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma. Head Neck 2012;34(5):709-16. [Pubmed Link]
Moore EJ, Ebrahimi A, Price DL, Olsen KD. Retropharyngeal lymph node dissection in oropharyngeal cancer treated with transoral surgery. Laryngoscope 2013;123(7):1676-81. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Zhang W, Gao K, Clark JR. Nodal yield and survival in oral squamous cancer: defining the standard of care. Cancer 2011;117(13):2917- 25. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Clark JR, Zhang W, et al. The lymph node ratio as an independent prognostic factor in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. Head Neck 2011;33(9):1245-51. [Pubmed Link]
Kernohan M, Clark JR, Gao K, Ebrahimi A, Milross CG. Predicting the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma after first recurrence. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2010; 136(12): 1235-9. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Moncrieff MD, Clark JR, et al. Predicting the pattern of regional metastases from cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck based on location of the primary. Head Neck 2010;32(10):1288-94. [Pubmed Link]

Reconstructive Surgery Research

Chong LS, Eviston TJ, Ashford B, Ebrahami A, Clark JR. Single innervated segmented vastus lateralis for midfacial reanimation during radical parotidectomy. Head Neck. 2017 Mar;39(3):602-604. doi: 10.1002/hed.24668. Epub 2017 Jan 9. [Pubmed Link]
Privett BJ, Lehane C, Wykes J, Ebrahimi A. Sympathetic trunk repair following penetrating injury to the neck. Trauma. 2016; 19(3):212-215. [Pubmed Link]
Parotidectomy: surgery in evolution. Eviston TJ, Yabe TE, Gupta R, Ebrahimi A, Clark JR. ANZ J Surg. 2015 Jul 14. doi: 10.1111/ans.13212. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Ashford BG. Advances in temporomandibular joint reconstruction. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2010;18(4):255-60. [Pubmed Link]
Zhang W, Ebrahimi A, Kernohan M, Clark JR. Anterolateral thigh flap fascia lata suspension in oral floor reconstruction. Laryngoscope 2011;121(3):555-7. [Pubmed Link]
Ebrahimi A, Cosman P, Widdowson P, Crampton N. TRAM flap delay: an extraperitoneal laparoscopic technique. ANZ Journal of Surgery 2005; 75(10): 911-3. [Pubmed Link]