Dr Andrew “Wal” Watkins is an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at OMS Specialists, offering high quality specialist care in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr Wal operates from various Hospitals in the greater Newcastle area. Dr Wal is a Consultant Surgeon at the John Hunter Hospital.

After finishing high school in Orange, Dr. Wal earned bachelor’s degrees in Oral Health Therapy, Dentistry, and Medicine/Surgery from the University of Sydney. Following this he completed his junior medical training in Sydney followed by specialist Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training at a number of different hospitals in NSW and ACT, including a couple of stints at The John Hunter Hospital. After surgical training, Dr. Wal undertook further subspecialty training in temporomandibular joint surgery and orthognathic/corrective jaw surgery in Sydney, however he is just as happy removing a set of wisdom teeth, plating a mandible fracture or placing a dental implant.

Following family footsteps, Dr Wal is also a passionate educator and has been appointed as an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Charles Sturt University’s Dental School, where he shares his specialist knowledge with future generations of dental professionals. He is also currently engaged in the training of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery registrars both clinically, at the John Hunter Hospital, and academically through the Australasian teaching program.

When not working, Dr. Wal enjoys hanging out with his family, swimming, golf and fishing.

Originally from the United States, Dr Ryan Winters was recruited to Newcastle in 2022, and is now very fortunate to call Newcastle his home. He completed his medical degree at the University of Vermont (the seventh-oldest medical school in the USA). This was followed by Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery specialty training at Tulane University in New Orleans, the second oldest training programme in the country, in 2013. He passed his American Board of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery Certification Examination in 2014, and completed a fellowship in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Craniomaxillofacial Surgery at the State University of New York, becoming Board-Certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. He then became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Paediatrics, and subsequently completed an additional fellowship in Head & Neck Surgical Oncology and Microvascular Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

Since that time, he has focused his practice in three areas: (1) facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, (2) head and neck cancer surgery and major head & neck reconstruction, and (3) paediatric head and neck surgical conditions. Dr Winters achieved Fellowship in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2023, one year after migrating permanently to Australia.

Dr Winters is an active surgeon with Mèdecins Sans Frontiéres/Doctors Without Borders, as well as other Non-Governmental Organisations including the United Nations, LIGA International, Mercy Ships, MRDC International, Healing the Children Northeast, Razom Ukraine, and The India Project, Inc., where he serves on the board of directors.

He maintains active public appointments at the John Hunter Hospital and other public hospitals throughout the local area. We are very pleased to now have Associate Professor Winters operating at Warners Bay Private Hospital.