Northland DHB General Surgery

Public Service, General Surgery, Plastic Surgery

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, skin and, in many hospitals, 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.

A Plastic Surgery and Oncoplastic Breast service also supports work undertaken in general surgery.

Consultants

Note: Please note below that some people are not available at all locations.

Mr William Crisp

General Surgeon - Upper GI interest

Available at Whangārei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital
Mr Christopher Harmston

General Surgeon with interest in Colorectal and Non-Melanoma Skin

Available at Whangārei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital
Mr John Lengyel

General Surgeon - Colorectal

Available at Whangārei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital, Dargaville Hospital
Mr Raj Patel

General Surgeon - Breast Oncoplastic, Melanoma, Skin and Endocrine Specialist

Available at Whangārei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital
Mr Christopher Powell

Consultant Plastic Surgeon

Available at Whangārei Hospital
Dr Maxine Ronald

General Surgeon - Breast and Oncoplastic

Available at Whangārei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital
Mr Mark Sanders

General Surgeon - Colorectal

Available at Whangārei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital, Dargaville Hospital
Dr Usha Shan

General Surgeon - Breast and Oncoplastic

Available at Whangārei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital, Bay of Islands Hospital
Mr Peter Swan

General Surgeon - Upper GI interest

Available at all locations.

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

Colonoscopy

Colonoscopy More
CTC ( Computerised Colonography)

Click here to view a patient information sheet for CTC. More
Gallstones

Gallstones More
Gastrointestinal Disorders

Conditions of the gut dealt with by general surgery include disorders of the oesophagus, stomach, small bowel, large bowel and anus.… More
Hernias

Hernias More
Skin Disorders

Skin conditions dealt with by general surgery include lumps, tumours and other lesions of the skin and underlying tissues.… More
Thyroid, Parathyroid, and Other Endocrine Disorders

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

Vascular (blood vessel) disorders treated by general surgery include varicose veins, blockages and narrowings in the arteries or abnormal swellings of the arteries (aneurysm).… More
Plastic / Reconstructive Surgery

Plastic surgery covers a wide range of different surgical procedures that repair, reconstruct or replace structures in many different parts of the body including the skin, face and head, hands, breast and stomach.… More