New Zealand’s first TORS patient had transoral robotic surgery in September 2016 by Dr Cho and myself. He is swallowing well and has no cancer over six years later.    

I have recently been diagnosed with a cancerous lesion under my tongue by my ENT specialist…. I have been told that Dr Hall is the foremost surgeon in this field, and I would very much prefer to be seen/treated by him if at all possible. Man, aged 47.  

I am totally clear. It’s all I wanted”. Feedback from a 72 year old woman 3 months post septoplasty and turbinoplasty for a deviated nasal septum.  

A woman, aged 64, presented with a history of tiredness and aching pains in her thighs. A biochemical diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism with a raised serum calcium and PTH level was made. The vitamin D level was normal. Ultrasound and sestamibi scans localised an abnormality to right lower neck. I performed parathyroidectomy removing an enlarged parathyroid gland from the right lower neck. Post operatively the patient no longer felt tired and the pains in legs had resolved completely. The patient was extremely happy with her care and thanked me for taking such good care of her.  

A male, aged 66, presented with a history of snoring.  A home-based sleep study showed obstructive sleep apnoea with an AHI (apnoea hypnoea index) of 13.2. A mandibular advancement splint was tried. A repeat home-based sleep study while he was using the mandibular advancement splint shown an AHI of 3.3.  After a few years he elected to undergo surgery as he preferred to not wear his splint at night. I performed an expansion palatoplasty. Three months after surgery his wife reports that her husband’s snoring is now markedly reduced. He feels well.  He is swallowing without difficulty and his speech is unchanged. Three months after surgery, his AHI is 4 and he is cured of OSA.

The first person in New Zealand to undergo TORS for recurrent tonsil cancer after previous treatment with radiotherapy had transoral robotic surgery in December 2017 by Dr Cho and myself. He is swallowing well and has no cancer over five years later.  

Thank you so much for all your help. I feel great”. Feedback from a 31 year old woman 6 weeks post septoplasty and turbinoplasty for a deviated nasal septum.    

To the family of The Wonderful Dr Francis Hall. We don’t know exactly who Francis is to you…But to us he is a Real Life Hero. He has saved M……’s life this past month. He has saved my husband of 35 years; S…….. and R……’s Dad. He has allowed L…… and T….. to have their Grandpa, if not for many, many years… at least until they will be old enough to remember him. For this we will be forever grateful. We hope you enjoy this Lemonade Shrub and that, come summertime, you can all have a fresh glass of freshly squeezed lemonade from it. So, thank you all for allowing the wonderfully kind Francis to carry out his magnificent and talented surgeries, and know that when he is sneaking out early in the morning or coming home late.. it is because he is saving lives for real, and visiting his healing patients to reassure them. He took on Michael’s surgery when another wouldn’t dare. Frantastic! Kind regards and best wishes always,   L and M.  

A woman aged 58 presented with symptoms of Frey’s syndrome (gustatory sweating). This is a condition where part of the face (the area over the previous parotid surgery) sweats when eating. She had previously undergone parotidectomy by another surgeon for a benign parotid tumour. I performed a starch iodine test and injected the involved skin with botox. A few months later she reported, “It is not sweating anymore.