Julie Miller, MD, FRACS
Specialist Endocrine Surgeon
Professor of Surgery - University of Melbourne
Past Head of Endocrine Surgery - The Royal Melbourne Hospital
Past President, Australian and New Zealand Endocrine Surgeon
Prof Miller is a specialist surgeon with specific expertise in endocrine surgery. Originally from the United States, she became a fully qualified surgeon in New York City before moving to Australia in 2001. She is a consultant surgeon at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Epworth Freemason’s Hospital, and former President of Australian and New Zealand Endocrine Surgeons, Head of Endocrine Surgery at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Clinical Sub-Dean for Surgical Education at the University of Melbourne.
Prof. Miller served as the President of Australian and New Zealand Endocrine Surgeons, and Head of the Endocrine Section of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. She founded and developed Thyroid and Endocrine Tumour Group of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and the Thyroid Cancer Multidisciplinary Care Conference. She has a special interest and expertise in minimally invasive parathyroid surgery, as well as thyroid and adrenal surgery.
Prof. Miller is a warm, personable, and knowledgeable surgeon with a busy clinical practice, performing more than 400 endocrine surgical operations per year. She is also an innovator in her field. In 2011, Prof Miller was the first surgeon in Victoria to perform a PRA (posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy). This approach to the adrenal gland is relatively painless, so it benefits the patient in terms of faster recovery. Most patients have no need for prescription pain tablets. She has since taught many other surgeons the procedure, which is now the procedure of choice of the most experienced endocrine surgeons around the world.
In 2015, she established Australia’s first public one-stop thyroid nodule clinic, offering same day assessment and ultrasound-guided thyroid biopsies to patients who need them, thereby streamlining care and reducing the number of visits necessary to arrive at a diagnosis and treatment plan.
In 2017, she became the first surgeon in Australia to offer non-surgical ablation of benign thyroid cysts using medical grade ethanol, thereby allowing patients with large, symptomatic cysts to be treated without surgery.
In addition to her high-volume clinical practice and teaching responsibilities, Prof. Miller is a sought after speaker and has given many invited lectures nationally and internationally on her areas of expertise.
Endocrine Surgery
Parathyroid: Prof Miller has cured thousands of patients with high blood calcium so they feel better, have more energy, improved mood, and recover bone strength. Patients include many doctors and nurses, and patients who have travelled from interstate and abroad. She performs her own parathyroid ultrasound localization.
Adrenal: Prof Miller is one of Australia’s leading adrenal surgeon with a vast experience and expertise in posterior retroperitneoscopic adrenalectomy. She is widely published on the surgical management of adrenal tumours including phaeochromocytoma, primary hyperaldosteronism, and adrenal Cushing’s.
Thyroid: Prof Miller is an expert thyroid surgeon, performing her own office-based thyroid ultrasound and biopsy, and managing thyroid nodules, goitre, thyroid cancer, and Graves’ disease. Her approach is to try to solve the presenting problem in the least invasive way for safe, effective management.