Public Service

Capital & Coast DHB General Surgery Service

Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB)

Description

What is General Surgery?
The role of the General Surgical Department varies from hospital to hospital, but in broad terms general surgery can be said to deal with a wide range of conditions within the abdomen, breast, neck and skin.

While the name would suggest that the focus of general surgery is to perform operations, often this is not the case. Many patients are referred to surgeons with conditions that do not need surgical procedures, but merely require counselling or medical treatment.

The Wellington Hospital General Surgery Department primarily provides a secondary level service for acute and elective general surgical patients in the Wellington region and Kapiti Coast. This includes outpatient, day case and inpatient provision.

A regional tertiary service for both elective and acutes is also provided.

The General Surgical Department comprises several specialty areas: Breast Surgery, Endocrine Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Upper GI Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery.

Referral Expectations

When you come to your appointment, your surgeon will ask questions about your illness and examine you to try to determine or confirm the diagnosis. This process may also require a number of tests (e.g. blood tests, x-rays, scans etc). Sometimes this can all be done during one visit, but for some conditions this will take several follow-up appointments. Occasionally some tests are arranged even before your appointment to try to speed up the process.

Once a diagnosis has been made, your surgeon will discuss treatment with you. In some instances this will mean surgery, while other cases can be managed with medication and advice. If surgery is advised, the steps involved in the surgical process and the likely outcome are usually discussed with you at this time.

Common Conditions

Gastrointestinal Disorders

Conditions of the gut dealt with by general surgery include disorders of the oesophagus, stomach, small bowel, large bowel and anus... More
Central Region Metabolic and Bariatric Service

Patients with obesity should be referred only if they express an interest in pursuing surgery as an option for management. ... More
Breast Disorders

General surgery covers breast diseases including breast cancer. These conditions are often initially dealt with in a specialised breast clinic which is able to perform a number of investigations (e.g... More
Gallstones

General surgery covers some disorders of the liver and biliary system... More
Hernias

A hernia exists where part of the abdominal wall is weakened, and the contents of the abdomen push through to the outside... More
Upper GI / Liver Service

The Upper GI/Liver Service manages benign and malignant conditions of the upper gastrointestinal tract, and liver and pancreatic systems. Malignant conditions include cancer of the liver (primary and secondary), pancreatic cancer and cancer of the oesophagus and stomach. Benign conditions include gallstone disease, pancreatitis, reflux oesophagitis and achalasia... More
Endocrine Disorders

Abnormalities of the endocrine system treated by general surgery include disorders of the thyroid and parathyroid glands in the neck, and adrenal glands in the abdomen. These are often very complex conditions requiring extensive investigations... More
Skin Disorders

Skin conditions dealt with by general surgery include lumps, tumours and other lesions of the skin and underlying tissues... More