Patient Journey
Consultation
Your doctor will get detailed information about your symptoms and history of your current and past conditions. A physical examination will be offered. Relevant diagnostic tests such as blood tests or imaging tests will be reviewed and more tests may ordered if necessary. After reviewing these results, your doctor will discuss with you appropriate treatment options.
Diagnostic Work Up
Discussion and Choice
It’s not uncommon to have questions or doubts, which we will encourage you to clarify before you leave the clinic. Your doctor will take time to explain your options for treatment and my practice manager will go through the details of costs and logistics with you. Our aim is to provide you with all the information that you would need to make informed decisions about managing your health. If you still have questions when you leave the office, please do not hesitate to contact us - we are here to help.
Procedure
Multidisciplinary Team Discussion
Post-Procedure
After the procedure, regular post-procedure follow up visits are important to ensure your complete recovery and a successful outcome. The discharge instructions will have the periodical follow-up visits listed.
Your first post – operative visit will be within 2-3 weeks from discharge. All other visits (if deemed necessary) will decided at the time of your post – operative consultation.
Care Plan
Breast Surgery:
- Most of Breast operations are overnight stay only.
- In most of the operations, a simple, water-proof dressing is used only. This dressing can be taken down three days after the surgery while taking a shower. Please note that all the surgical sutures are dissolvable and nothing need to be removed surgically after the surgery.
- Sometimes, a special negative pressure wound dressing (PICO) and a drain can be used. If so, we will organize a Silver Chain / Health Choices Services follow up for you after discharge from the hospital. A specialized Breast Care Nurse will also be looking after you. Usually, the (PICO) and drain will stay for 7 days during which you will be covered with oral antibiotics.
- If you had a breast reconstruction surgery, you will need to stay in the hospital on intra-venous antibiotics cover for at least 72 hrs after which you can be discharged home with Silver Chain / Health Choices follow up for your dressing and your wound drains.
- You will have the opportunity to discuss all the post-operative care with your surgeon and a specialized breast care nurse at the time of your clinic consultation.
Thyroid Surgery:
- In most of the time you will only need to stay overnight in the hospital and can be discharged the very next day.
- All the dressings used are water-proof ones. Please note that the dressing can be removed in day 3 after the surgery. All the sutures used are dissolvable ones.
- In total thyroidectomy, the medical team will be checking your Parathyroid hormone (iPTH) level on the same day of the surgery and your serum calcium level on the next day of the surgery and you will be given Calcium and Vit D replacement accordingly if necessary. This can be in most of the time on temporary basis and rarely on permanent basis.
- In total thyroidectomy, you will be started on an initial dose of 75mcg Thyroxine on the next day of your surgery. Your surgeon will be monitoring your thyroid function test after discharge from the hospital until you reach the optimal thyroxine dose.
- You might have a transient voice changes which will improve gradually with time.
- Your surgeons will discuss with you all the above and further issues at the time of your clinic consultation in details.
General Surgery:
- In Laparoscopic / Open mesh repair for inguinal hernia: you are advised to consider the followings after your surgery:
- Not to lift any heavy objects (>5Kg) for the first 2 weeks after the surgery.
- Not to go back to full gym exercise and resistant training till 4 weeks after the surgery.
- Not to drive at least 2 weeks after the surgery.
- Usually most of the patients will require 2 weeks’ time off work after the surgery.
