As of March 21, 2025, MGH’s main entrance on Coxwell Avenue is closed as the next phase of our redevelopment project begins. Patients and visitors can use the new temporary main entrance on Sammon Avenue between Coxwell Avenue and Knight Street. View our campus map.
#IamMGH tells the stories of our people. Meet. Dr. Antoine (Tony) Eskander, Chief of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and surgical oncologist at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH).
“When I think about what makes my work meaningful, it always comes back to the people I care for and the colleagues I work with. As Chief of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at MGH and a surgical oncologist, my work is primarily focused on cancer care.
My department is small as a team of six surgeons, and we are deeply integrated across the hospital. We collaborate closely with the hospital’s Speech-Language Pathology Team, we assess airways in partnership with the Anesthesia Team, we treat complex cases like thyroid cancers and we perform some of the highest volume of paediatric surgeries in Ontario. Our department treats patients from just a few weeks old to the elderly. We lead both inpatient and outpatient care, running clinics four days a week, seeing patients from the Stavro Emergency Department and the wider community. Whether it’s helping a child breathe better or treating complex head and neck cancers, our team plays a vital role across inpatient, outpatient and surgical services.
I also split my time with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, where I work at the Odette Cancer Centre. This is a unique partnership between MGH and Sunnybrook and I’m proud to be one of the bridges between these two institutions.
Otolaryngology is an interesting specialty as patients are treated both medically and surgically. There are a few surgical specialties that allow you to do that. What I enjoy about this field of work is the unique intersection between the form and the function of your body. Every little thing we do in the nose, ear, mouth or throat can impact patients’ appearance, their ability to communicate and speak and their swallowing function. Small changes can have a huge impact in my field of work. Whether it’s restoring a person’s ability to hear and speak or removing a tumor that’s affecting their ability to eat, breathe or communicate, it can seem like such a small adjustment, but it has a big impact on function, ultimately impacting their quality of life.
My work is delicate and can be emotionally intense, especially in oncology where decisions carry a lot of weight. We often care for people with life-threatening illnesses and that carries a deep responsibility. The opportunity to save a life or to give form and function back is incredibly meaningful.
The most rewarding part of my job is the gratitude that sometimes comes from simply being there for a patient. Many patients I see are in the most vulnerable points in their lives. They are navigating difficult diagnoses while facing uncertainty, fear or disbelief. In those moments, showing up, being present and truly caring can make all the difference.
When I think about MGH’s values, courage stands out to me. In the MGH community, everyone from leadership to physicians to allied health professionals to nurses to the MGH Foundation has always been forward-thinking and courageous. There is a can-do attitude that exists here when something needs to be done. It takes courage to try something new, to be innovative, to challenge the norm and to push boundaries for the sake of better patient care.
An example of courage that comes to mind is the hospital’s adoption of intraoperative parathyroid hormone testing, a technology that very few hospitals in Ontario offer. This is a blood test done in the operating room during surgery that provides results within minutes to determine if a patient is cured of a disease. The goal is to increase the success rate of the surgery, to decrease the number of times the patient might need future surgeries and in some cases, to decrease the length of a surgery. At MGH, departments across the hospital including Otolaryngology, Anesthesia, Lab Medicine, MGH Foundation, as well as our porters and nurses, worked together to make this possible. It took a lot of courage for multiple chiefs of departments to say, ‘This should be the standard of care. It’s innovative and if it’s better for patients, we’re going to take this on and provide this courageous new treatment.’ This kind of mindset and innovation makes MGH so special.
I couldn’t imagine my life without MGH. What’s kept me here for nearly a decade is the feeling of being in a family. Every time I walk into this building, every time I see a colleague in the hallway, there is a sense of connectedness and community that you don’t find everywhere.
I really love my role here at MGH. Not just because I get to care for patients, but because I get to lead a group that’s always looking to improve. I enjoy our ability to improve and inform our healthcare system towards changes that matter. I really value the leadership team at MGH. You can’t make meaningful changes on your own. You need stakeholders who believe in you and want to make things better and I’ve found that here.”
