Christopher MKL Yao, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Christopher Yao graduated from the University of Toronto medical school and completed his residency within the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Toronto. He then went on to complete a prestigious two-year fellowship in Advanced Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, Texas with Drs. Randal Weber, Erich Sturgis, Peirong Yu, and Matthew Hanasono amongst many others. He then moved to Philadelphia where he worked with Dr. Drew Ridge, one of the foremost head and neck surgeons at Fox Chase Cancer Center before being recruited back to the University Health Network.

Dr. Yao has surgical expertise in Head & Neck Surgery, Reconstructive Microsurgery, Transoral Robotic Surgery, Sentinel Node, and has advanced American Head and Neck Surgery certification in Transoral Robotic surgery. Dr. Yao’s clinical focus and passion is in caring for patients with mucosal malignancies such as oral, oropharyngeal and laryngeal cancers, salivary gland tumors, thyroid and parathyroid disease and advanced skin malignancies including melanoma. His philosophy is that each patient is unique, and approaches treatment of head and neck cancers in a multidisciplinary team approach.

Dr. Yao’s academic focus will be in clinical trials and the application of AI in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Head and Neck Reconstruction. He is an active member of the American Head and Neck Society and is a regular reviewer for the following journals: JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Head and Neck, and Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.