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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

Website

www.northlanddhb.org.nz

Contact Details

Whangārei Hospital

Northland

More details…

Kaitaia Hospital

Northland

More details…

Bay of Islands Hospital

Northland

More details…

Dargaville Hospital

Northland

More details…

This page was last updated at 2:23PM on June 16, 2021. This information is reviewed and edited by Northland DHB General Surgery.