General surgery — Wellington, Hutt and Kapiti

We work with people in hospital as well as outpatients.

Our surgeons do more than perform operations. Many people are referred to surgeons with conditions that do not need surgical procedures — they may require counselling or medical treatment instead.

When you come to your appointment, the surgeon will:

• ask questions about your illness
• examine you to determine or confirm your diagnosis.

This process may also require a number of tests, such as blood tests, x-rays or scans. Sometimes this can all be done during one visit, but for some conditions this will take several follow-up appointments. Some tests can be arranged before your appointment.

Once a diagnosis has been made, the surgeon will discuss treatment with you. In some instances this will mean surgery, while other cases can be managed with medication and advice. 

If you need surgery, the steps involved in the surgical process and the likely outcome are usually discussed with you at this time.

• Banding of haemorrhoids — patient informationPDF94 KB
• Breast surgery with a wound drain — patient informationPDF429 KB
• Breast surgery without a wound drain — patient informationPDF426 KB
• Considering bariatric surgery — patient informationPDF410 KB
• Elective surgery — patient informationPDF297 KB
• Elective surgery at Kenepuru Hospital (adult) — patient informationPDF297 KB
• Examination under anaesthetic and laying open of a superficial fistula — patient informationPDF524 KB
• Fasting before your surgery (adults and young people 16+) — patient informationPDF412 KB
• Haemorrhoidectomy — patient informationPDF426 KB
• Incision and drainage of pilonidal sinus — patient informationPDF536 KB
• Laparoscopic appendectomy — discharge informationPDF437 KB
• Laparoscopic cholecystectomy — patient informationPDF534 KB
• Laparoscopic hernia repair — patient informationPDF437 KB
• Lung surgery — patient informationPDF169 KB
• Minor surgery for skin lesions under local anaesthesia — patient informationPDF237 KB
• Nutricia preOp enhanced recovery after surgery — patient informationPDF408 KB
• Open hernia repair — discharge informationPDF438 KB
• Seton suture — discharge informationPDF436 KB
• Surgical assessment and planning unit — patient informationPDF546 KB
• Temporal artery biopsy — patient informationPDF537 KB
• Wound care following skin surgery — patient informationPDF100 KB