Tom Burton is a New Zealand-trained General Surgeon with post-fellowship training in Colorectal, Bariatric and Endocrine surgery. His special interests include:
What is General Surgery?
- Endoscopy including Gastroscopy and Colonoscopy
- Laparoscopic and Open Colorectal Surgery
- Obesity and Bariatric Surgery
- Endocrine conditions including thyroid and parathyroid surgery
- Laparoscopic Surgery including gallbladder and hernia (ventral, inguinal, femoral)
- Benign anorectal disease including haemorrhoids, anal fissures, fistulas and anal skin tags
- Skin conditions including pilonidal disease, skin cancer and other lesions
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, in some cases, 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 Bariatric Surgery?
Bariatric or weight loss surgery is a term that covers all the different surgical procedures used to help extremely overweight or morbidly obese patients lose weight.
Morbidly obese patients are usually identified by their Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement, although other factors may also be taken into account. Morbid obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing illnesses such as: heart attack, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, sleep disorders and joint pain. Bariatric surgery can cure or greatly improve these illnesses as well as give the patient an improved quality of life.
Colorectal Surgery
The colon and the rectum are part of the digestive tract that processes the food we eat. Together they make up the large intestine or large bowel and are located in the abdomen between the small intestine and the anus. The colon is about 1.8m long and absorbs water and nutrients from food. The rectum is the last segment of the large intestine and is about 20 -25cm long. This is where waste material is stored before it passes out of the body through the anus.
What is Bariatric Surgery?
Bariatric or weight loss surgery is a term that covers all the different surgical procedures used to help extremely overweight or morbidly obese patients lose weight.
Morbidly obese patients are usually identified by their Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement, although other factors may also be taken into account. Morbid obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing illnesses such as: heart attack, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, sleep disorders and joint pain. Bariatric surgery can cure or greatly improve these illnesses as well as give the patient an improved quality of life.
Colorectal Surgery
The colon and the rectum are part of the digestive tract that processes the food we eat. Together they make up the large intestine or large bowel and are located in the abdomen between the small intestine and the anus. The colon is about 1.8m long and absorbs water and nutrients from food. The rectum is the last segment of the large intestine and is about 20 -25cm long. This is where waste material is stored before it passes out of the body through the anus.
