OUR CARE PLAN

Initial Meeting

During your initial meeting our doctors will:

ask detailed information about your symptoms and history of your current and past ailments
review any x rays, diagnostic reports or other documents
perform a thorough physical examination

To confirm a diagnosis other possible diagnostic investigations such as blood tests or imaging tests may be additionally required.

After reviewing these results, our doctors will recommend appropriate treatment options.

Diagnosis & Planning

Our doctors will take time to explain your options for treatment. Depending on the diagnosis your choice could include:

Watchful Waiting
Non-Surgical
Surgical

It’s not uncommon to have questions or doubts. Our doctors encourage you to seek clarification on any issue before you leave the clinic.

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.

Where surgery is the chosen path, our staff will detail costs and other logistics with you.

Preparing for Surgery

Once it is decided that surgery will help you, you'll need to learn what to expect from the surgery and create a treatment plan for the best results afterwards.

As you prepare for your surgery, it is important to be proactive. Preparing mentally and physically for surgery is an important step toward a successful result.

Before the surgery, you should make sure that you understand what the surgery entails and also what to expect in the weeks and months to follow.

Understanding the process and your role in it will help you recover more quickly and have fewer problems.

Before surgery, our doctors will give you a complete physical examination to make sure you don't have any conditions that could interfere with the surgery or its outcome.

Other pre-surgery activities could include:

Final Testing - Routine tests, such as blood tests and X-rays, are usually performed a week before any major surgery.
Medications - Discuss any medications you are taking with your doctor and your family physician to see which ones you should stop taking before surgery.
Gum Disease - Have any tooth, gum, bladder or bowel problems treated before surgery to reduce the risk of infection later.

Other Preoperative activities could include:

Infections - Report any infections to your surgeon. Surgery cannot be performed until all infections have cleared up.
Support - Arrange for someone to help out with everyday tasks like cooking, shopping and laundry.
Easy Reach - Put items that you use often within easy reach before surgery so you won't have to reach and bend as often.
Easy Access - Remove all loose carpets and tape down electrical cords to avoid falls. Make sure you have a stable chair with a firm seat cushion, a firm back and two arms.

Day Surgery Procedure Patients

If you are having Day Surgery, remember the following

Have someone available to take you home, you will not be able to drive for at least 24 hours.
Do Not drink or eat anything in the car on the trip home. The combination of anaesthesia, food, and car motion can quite often cause nausea or vomiting.
After arriving home, wait until you are hungry before trying to eat. Begin with a light meal and try to avoid greasy food for the first 24 hours.

Initial Post Operative

Hospital Recovery

After the surgery, you will go to a recovery room. To help you with your home recovery, your surgical team will give you some instructions to follow. If unsure you should ask for clarifications and follow these instructions closely and diligently.

Before that, your doctor will make sure that there are no signs of infection at the incision site.

Ongoing Care

After your procedure, regular post-procedure follow-up visits are important to ensure your complete recovery and a successful outcome.

Your hospital discharge instructions will have the periodical follow-up visits listed. Depending on your surgery your first visit may be scheduled 1 day to 3 weeks after the procedure.

You may be required to have regular follow up visits – six weeks, three months, six months, nine months and then annually to assess your recovery and progress.

Other appointments may be arranged if any post-operative problems arise.

Home Recovery

Remember to arrange for someone to take you home, as driving may not be recommended for several weeks following surgery.

After the surgery, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics are prescribed to control inflammation and prevent infection. Take your medicine as directed.

Your doctor and other members of the hospital staff will also give you some self-care instructions for you to follow at home that are crucial to your recovery. These are a list of "dos and don'ts," which you will be asked to follow for the first 6 to 8 weeks of your home recovery.

Wound Care

When you will be discharged, you will still have a surgical dressing on your incision(s).

Dressings are usually left intact until the first postoperative visit. If there are issues with the dressings these may require earlier review with the surgeon or GP.

If any of the following signs of infection are observed, you should call your doctor immediately. These signs include: