A/Prof Craig J Taylor
A/Prof Craig Taylor is a highly experienced specialist Upper Gastrointestinal, Bariatric and Abdominal Wall Surgeon with more than 20 years' consultant-level experience and over 10,000 surgical procedures performed. His principal areas of expertise include gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), complex and recurrent hiatal hernias, revisional and corrective bariatric surgery, and advanced abdominal wall hernia reconstruction. His practice has a particular emphasis on advanced minimally invasive and complex re-operative surgery.
He is Head of Gastrointestinal Surgery at the Mater Hospital, Sydney, Senior Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon at Concord Repatriation General Hospital, and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame Australia. He consults in Crows Nest and Bella Vista in Sydney, and conducts regular outreach clinics in Tamworth, regional NSW.
Advanced Reflux and Hiatal Hernia Surgery
Having performed more than 1,000 hiatal hernia repairs, A/Prof Taylor has extensive experience managing gastro-oesophageal reflux, large para-oesophageal hernias, recurrent hiatal hernias, failed fundoplication and complex foregut disorders.
Drawing on this experience and more than two decades of clinical practice, he has developed his own refinements to laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair and fundoplication, with an emphasis on restoring the natural anatomical mechanisms and optimising the geometry of the oesophagogastric junction; This anatomical approach aims to achieve effective reflux control while preserving the physiological swallowing mechanism and gastric venting, to minimising postoperative dysphagia and gas-bloat symptoms.A/Prof Taylor teaches these advanced techniques through surgical masterclasses and fellowship training programmes attended by surgeons from Australia and overseas.
Complex Revisional and Corrective Bariatric Surgery
A/Prof Taylor has performed more than 2,500 revisional bariatric procedures in the management of complications and unsatisfactory outcomes following previous weight loss surgery as part of his vast overall experience in bariatric and metabolic surgery.
His expertise includes corrective and revisional surgery for weight regain, inadequate weight loss, severe reflux, swallowing difficulties, chronic abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nutritional complications and malabsorption following sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, gastric banding, and other bariatric procedures.
His approach prioritises identifying the underlying anatomical or functional cause of symptoms and tailoring treatment to restore gastrointestinal function while preserving the benefits of metabolic surgery wherever possible.
Abdominal Hernia Surgery and Abdominal Wall Reconstruction
A/Prof Taylor has extensive experience in laparoscopic abdominal hernia surgery, including inguinal, femoral, ventral, incisional and recurrent hernias, as well as advanced abdominal wall reconstruction for rectus muscle separation (divarication) using laparoscopic and robotic retrorectus Rives-Stoppa techniques.
He was the principal author and lead investigator of a major randomised controlled trial published in 2006 investigating laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal (TEP) inguinal hernia repair, which was among the largest published studies of its kind, reflecting a longstanding involvement in evaluating surgical techniques and contributing to the evidence base for minimally invasive hernia repair.
Specialist Training and Academic Leadership
A graduate of the University of Sydney (MBBS Hons, Robert Craig Prize in Surgery, 1997), A/Prof Taylor completed his Basic and Advanced Surgery training with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2004, followed by three years of advanced subspecialty Fellowship training in Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgery in Queensland, France and the United States, culminating 10 years of post graduate surgical training prior to becoming a consultant surgeon in 2007.
He is actively involved in training the next generation of surgeons. Numerous Australian and international surgeons have undertaken advanced Fellowship training under his supervision at Concord Hospital or participated in his Masterclass Clinical Immersion programmes at the Mater Hospital in Advanced bariatric, Hiatal and anti-reflux surgery.
He is a regular speaker at various national and international surgical conferences and has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific publications. His academic and educational interests include reflux and hiatal hernia surgery, advanced laparoscopic foregut reconstruction, metabolic and revisional bariatric surgery, and minimally invasive hernia repair.
His professional memberships include:
- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)
- Australian and New Zealand Metabolic and Obesity Surgical Society (ANZMOSS)
- Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Gastro-Oesophageal Surgery Association (AANZGOSA)
- International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO)
A/Prof Taylor's practice combines extensive operative experience, advanced international subspecialty training, surgical innovation and a longstanding commitment to research and education. His particular focus is the management of complex reflux, hiatal hernia, revisional upper gastrointestinal and abdominal wall conditions, using evidence-based surgical techniques tailored to each patient's anatomy and clinical circumstances.
