Surgical Procedures in Wagga


You and your loved ones are in great hands at our practice. Our doctors and nurses provide high quality care for you in your surgery process and are skilled in performing minor surgery and procedures.  

All equipment used is sterilised by our professional and the trained team of doctors and nurses. Our staff are equipped to administer local or general anaesthetic during the procedure and offers patients a relaxing room to recover in when they have completed their procedure. We strive on making sure you and your loved ones feel comfortable during any surgical procedure and will assist you in your road to recovery.

The length of healing or the types of medications and treatment methods will vary depending upon the type of surgical procedure you undergo, the location of the surgery and your lifestyle factors.

If you have any questions regarding your surgical procedure or would like to discuss your health, please contact your health care professional.

 

Vasectomy

30,000 men within Australia have a vasectomy each year, with around 1 in 5 men aged 40 and over having had the procedure done.

A vasectomy is a surgical procedure to prevent a man from fathering children.

To perform the vasectomy a general or local anaesthetic is given, and the procedure is undertaken within the GP’s private room or performed by a specialist, if the patient wishes to get a referral.

The procedure takes between 20 to 40 minutes and involves the health service provider cutting the vas deferens, which is the tube that carries the sperm from the testicles to the penis.

There are two vasectomy techniques:

Scalpel technique.

A 1- 2cm incision is made on each side of the scrotum to allow the health service provider entry to the vas deferens, where the vas deferens is cut to ensure the sperm can no longer travel through the tubing.

No Scalpel Technique.

A sharpened instrument pierces the scrotal skin over the vas deferens, opening the skin 1cm. The vas deferens is then snipped and the sperm is no longer able to travel along the tube.

Although these are different procedures, the after effects and results are the same and the recovery time for both is no different.

After the procedure the patient will experience slight tenderness, bruising, pain and swelling in the groin and or scrotum. It is important for the patient to rest and avoid heavy lifting or strenuous tasks during the recovery stage. Pain relief medication, ice packs and supportive underwear can help ease pain.

A small percentage of vasectomies fail. It is important for patients to understand that the vasectomy does not work straight away and may take several months to completely clear the vas deferens of sperm.

Vasectomies are not an STI prevention. You are still able to contract and or spread STIs after you have had a vasectomy. It is important to practice safe sex to ensure that you do not contract an STI.  

It is advised that until speaking with your doctor, pregnancy preventatives are used until the procedure has taken affect.

Men can also still ejaculate normally after the procedure and the doctor will give information on when the patient can resume sexual activities.

Despite being a permanent procedure, If the patient wishes to reverse the vasectomy they will need to speak with their health care provider. Mostly, it is possible to re-connect the vas deferens tubes, but there is no guarantee the patient will be able to produce children after the initial vasectomy. The chances of success decrease with time after the procedure.

To discuss your health or if you wish to hear more information about vasectomies please contact your local health service provider.

 

Tongue Tie Release

Tongue tie is a condition that is present at birth. This condition restricts the movement of the tongue and affects oral hygiene, eating, speech and swallowing.

When a child has tongue tie they can have

  • Difficulty sticking their tongue out

  • A misshapen, notched or heart shaped tongue

  • Trouble moving their tongue from side to side

  • When extended, their tongue may look flat or square shaped

Tongue tie can also make it difficult to breast feed, as, the baby can lose suction, make clicking sounds while feeding, cause compression or stripes to the skin, damage or pain to nipples.  Tongue tie can also cause the baby’s weight to decrease as they are unable to latch properly.

It is important that babies have Vitamin K before the tongue tie release is considered and it is preferred that your baby refrains from feeding at least one hour before the procedure.

The release of the tongue tie involves the health professional placing their finger and thumb underneath the baby’s tongue to access the frenulum or “tongue web”. The health professional will then release the frenulum with a small pair of sterile scissors. It is encouraged that the baby is breast feed straight away after the procedure.

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s health or for more information on after care, the procedure or other concerns please contact your health provider.

 

Excision of Skin Lesions

A skin lesion occurs when an area of the skin differs from the rest of the skin. This can mean a lump, bump, sore or any area of the skin which is different to the surrounding skin. Skin lesion removal is a very simple procedure that is usually performed within the doctor’s office, however, in some cases you may be required to see a primary care advisor, dermatologist or surgeon, depending upon the seriousness of the skin lesion. The type of procedure and the after care will depend upon the size, location, appearance and type of lesion that the patient is suffering from. Many procedures result in a sample of the lesion being sent to the lab where is undergoes further testing to determine whether further treatment is needed or not.

The techniques the health provider will use to extract the skin lesion can involve

Simple Scissor Excision

This procedure is used for skin conditions that rise above skin level. The doctor or nurse will grab the skin lesion with small forceps and pull the skin in an upwards motion. Small scissors are then used to snip around and under the skin lesion. A curette (scraping device) is then sometimes used to cut any remaining parts of the lesion. This procedure rarely requires stitches and antiseptic medicines are applied to the area to prevent infections and bleeding.

Shave Excision

This procedure is used for lesions that rise beyond the skin surface. The health service provider uses a small razor like blade to extract the outer layers of the skin lesion after the area is made numb. All or part of the skin lesion is removed and sent for testing. This procedure rarely requires stitches and antiseptic medicines are applied to stop bleeding. The incision may also require burning with a cautery, but this will cause minimal to no pain for the patient.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is when the tissue is “super” frozen in order to destroy it. This procedure is generally used to treat warts, solar keratoses, actinic keratoses and molluscum contagiosum.

The procedure is done using a cotton swab that has had liquid nitrogen placed upon it. This procedure is fast and generally takes a minute to perform. It may cause the patient some discomfort. Numbing medicines and other pain preventives are generally used to aid the patient and when the procedure is completed the treated area will blister and the treated lesion will fall away.

Full Thickness- Skin Excision

To remove skin lesions at a deeper skin level, the health professional will remove a small amount of tissue surrounding the lesion to be tested and to check if there is any possibility of cancer cells. This procedure is likely to be performed if there is a likelihood the patient has skin cancer. The shape of an eclipse is removed from the skin lesion, as, this makes the incision easier to close with stitches. If the entire lesion is to be removed, typically a margin of 3- 4mm surrounding the possible tumour will also be removed.

This procedure will require stitches and if the area is significantly large, a skin graft may be required.

Micrographic (MOHS) Surgery

This surgery is used as a cure and treatment to some types of skin cancer. It is a skin- sparing technique that allows the health care provider to remove the skin cancer with minimal damage to the surrounding skin. This procedure involves removing the microscopic horizontal layers of the patient’s skin, which, increases the chances of a cure and reduces the need for additional skin cancer treatments.

Laser Excision

A small laser beam is used to focus on a small area of the patient’s skin. The laser heats the cells in the area, which, results in the cells being treated and bursting when the laser is hot enough. The types of lasers used, and the methods of the laser excision will differ depending upon the patient’s condition and the ways in which the doctor performs the excisions.

Laser excisions are generally used to treat patients of

  • Moles

  • Benign or pre-malignant skin lesions

  • Sun spots

  • Warts

  • Hair

  • Blood vessel damage to the skin

Curettage and Electrodesiccation

When the lesion is superficial and does not require full- thickness excision, the curettage and electrodesiccation procedure is performed. This procedure involves the health care provider scraping out the skin lesion. Before and after this procedure, the doctor may use a technique with high frequency electrical currents to treat the skin lesion. This procedure is called electrodesiccation.

Notice

The type of excision technique and the type of procedure to assess the skin condition will be at the discretion of the doctor and will differ depending on what is best for the patient.

If you notice any changes to the skin or suspect you have a skin lesion, it is important you contact us.

Talk to your doctor at Blamey St Surgery Wagga for more information.