Sandhya Pillai is a New Zealand trained and experienced general and oncoplastic breast surgeon consulting from the North Shore and West Auckland.
Dr Pillai provides specialist assessment and treatment of breast and general surgical conditions and is committed to ensuring you are provided with the best possible personalised care. Her subspecialty training in oncoplastic breast surgery allows her to provide a greater range of surgical options for women with breast cancer.
Dr Pillai works with a dedicated team of radiologists, anaesthetists, other specialty surgeons (gynaecology and plastic surgery), and theatre staff at Southern Cross Hospital and together we provide complete support throughout the course of your treatment.
What is General Surgery?
The role of the general surgeon varies but in broad terms general surgery can be said to deal with a wide range of conditions within the abdomen, breast, neck, skin and, often, vascular (blood vessel) system.
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.
What is Laparoscopic Surgery?
Laparoscopic (or keyhole) surgical procedures are performed through several small cuts (incisions) usually only 5-10mm long, rather than through one large incision. A long, narrow surgical telescope (laparoscope) that has a tiny camera and light source attached, is inserted through one of the incisions so that the surgeon can view the inside of the body on a TV monitor. The surgeon then passes specially designed surgical instruments through the other incisions and carries out the procedure using the TV monitor to guide the instruments.
Laparoscopic (or keyhole) surgical procedures are performed through several small cuts (incisions) usually only 5-10mm long, rather than through one large incision. A long, narrow surgical telescope (laparoscope) that has a tiny camera and light source attached, is inserted through one of the incisions so that the surgeon can view the inside of the body on a TV monitor. The surgeon then passes specially designed surgical instruments through the other incisions and carries out the procedure using the TV monitor to guide the instruments.
Laparoscopic surgery is usually associated with less blood loss during surgery and less pain and scarring following surgery. In most cases, time spent in hospital is less and overall recovery time from the operation is less than with conventional open surgery.
