Jeremy Rossaak is a New Zealand-trained general surgeon who has a sub-specialty interest in upper gastrointestinal and hepato-pancreatico-biliary surgery. He specialises in benign and malignant conditions of the oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, bile ducts, pancreas and gallbladder.
He provides care for the whole patient, not just the disease and has been involved in setting up complex decision pathways.
He performs therapeutic and diagnostic endoscopy of the oesophagus and stomach, the colon, and the bile ducts as well as laparoscopic and open gallbladder, bile duct operations, hernia repairs, stomach, duodenal, small bowel, and colon operations.
He is an internationally recognised surgeon treating familial gastric cancer and has won the Prime Ministers Award for Science for his work with Familial gastric cancer. He is on the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Board of Perioperative care, is an interviewer for the New Zealand Medical Council and overseas surgical training in New Zealand.
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, sometimes, 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 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.
