About Dr Marlene Soma

MBBS BSc (Med), FRACS, ASOHNS

Consultant Specialist Otolaryngologist

Dr Marlene Soma grew up in Sydney and completed her undergraduate medical degree from the University of NSW. She developed an excellent surgical foundation during training in General Surgery before making the switch to Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgery, rotating through multiple hospitals around NSW. She obtained her Fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery as the only female candidate in Australia and New Zealand in her year, and was the 6th female ENT surgeon in NSW. 

She dedicated 3 years to further subspecialisation in Paediatric Otolaryngology with a particular interest in paediatric airway surgery. Her post-fellowship training included 18 months at Great Ormond St Hospital for Children in London, with exposure to complex tertiary cases; 12 months at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati OH, USA, one of the largest centres for paediatric airway surgery in the world; 4 months split between children's hospitals in Paris, Lyon and Lausanne, learning about alternative approaches and techniques. This extensive training has given her a wealth of experience and skills in the full breadth of Paediatric Otolaryngology, and combined with being a parent herself, allows her to offer her patients a well-balanced and considered opinion. 

She is actively involved in teaching and research, runs courses for registrars, nurses and other ENT surgeons and has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings. She has many publications in different aspects of her specialty and written several book chapters. She stays up to date with the latest evidence and is well connected to many leaders in her field both locally and overseas. She is a member of the International Paediatric Otolaryngology Group (IPOG) that releases consensus statements about the management of complex paediatric ENT conditions. She has been the treasurer and an executive member of the Australian New Zealand Society Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology (ANZSPO) since 2011, and scientific convenor for the Paediatric section of the Australian Society for Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgeons (ASOHNS) Annual Scientific Meeting as well as the South Pacific ORL Meeting on multiple occasions. 

She was appointed at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick in 2009 as a part time staff specialist and is the current surgical representative on the Senior Medical Staff Council. In addition to general paediatric ENT patients, she is heavily involved with the Paediatric Multi-disciplinary Sleep team, Aero-digestive team, Complex Airway Disorders team, the Tracheostomy-Long Term Ventilation service and works closely with paediatric speech pathologists. She sees patients at her private practice in Edgecliff and has a visiting medical officer appointment at Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick.