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Northland DHB General Surgery

Public Service

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.

Consultants

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

  • Dr William Crisp

    General Surgeon - Upper GI interest

    Available at Whangarei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital, Dargaville Hospital

  • Dr Christopher Harmston

    General Surgeon with interest in Colorectal and Non-Melanoma Skin

    Available at Whangarei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital, Dargaville Hospital

  • Mr John Lengyel

    General Surgeon - Colorectal (Clinical Director, General Surgery)

    Available at Whangarei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital, Dargaville Hospital

  • Mr Raj Patel

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

    Available at Whangarei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital

  • Dr Maxine Ronald

    General Surgeon - Breast and Oncoplastic

    Available at Whangarei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital

  • Mr Mark Sanders

    General Surgeon - Colorectal

    Available at Whangarei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital, Dargaville Hospital

  • Dr Usha Shan

    General Surgeon - Breast and Oncoplastic

    Available at Whangarei Hospital, Kaitaia Hospital, Bay of Islands Hospital

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

  • CTC ( Computerised Colonography)

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

  • Colonoscopy

    This is a procedure which allows the doctor to see inside your large bowel and examine the surfaces directly, and take biopsies (samples of tissue) if needed.  Treatment of conditions can also be undertaken.… More PDF

  • 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

  • Gallstones

    General surgery covers some disorders of the liver and biliary system.… 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

    A hernia exists where part of the abdominal wall is weakened, and the contents of the abdomen push through to the outside.… More

  • Salivary Gland Disorders

    Disorders of the salivary glands may be dealt with by the general surgical department or the ENT (ORL) department depending on the local policy. More

  • Skin Disorders

    Skin conditions dealt with by general surgery include lumps, tumours and other lesions of the skin and underlying tissues.… 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

Document Downloads

Contact Details

Whangarei Hospital

Northland

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Kaitaia Hospital

Northland

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Bay of Islands Hospital

Northland

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Dargaville Hospital

Northland

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This page was last updated at 2:09PM on June 13, 2018. This information is reviewed and edited by Northland DHB General Surgery.