General Surgery Treatments

Umbilical hernia surgery is a small, quick operation to push the bulge back into place and to strengthen the abdominal wall. In most cases, the person receiving surgery will be able to go home on the same day. Surgery involves making an incision at the base of the belly button and pushing either the fatty lump or bowel back into the abdomen. In open surgery, our surgeon will open the site and repair the hernia by using mesh and stitching the muscle together. In laparoscopic surgery or keyhole, surgery, mesh and sutures will be passed through small incisions. Muscle layers are stitched over the weak area in the abdomen wall, fortifying it. Dissolvable stitches or special glue are used to close the wound. The surgeon will sometimes apply a pressure dressing on the hernia, which remains in place for 4 to 5 days. An umbilical hernia operation usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

Hemorrhoidectomy is surgery to remove hemorrhoids. You will be given general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia so that you will not feel pain. Incisions are made in the tissue around the hemorrhoid. The swollen vein inside the hemorrhoid is tied off to prevent bleeding, and the hemorrhoid is removed. The surgical area may be sewn closed or left open. Medicated gauze covers the wound. Surgery can be done with a knife (scalpel), a tool that uses electricity (cautery pencil), or a laser. There is a procedure that uses a circular stapling device to remove hemorrhoidal tissue and close the wound. No incision is made. In this procedure, the hemorrhoid is lifted and then "stapled" back into place in the anal canal. This surgery is called stapled hemorrhoidopexy. People who have stapled surgery may have less pain after surgery than people who have the traditional hemorrhoid surgery. But the stapled surgery is more expensive. And people who have stapled surgery are more likely to have hemorrhoids come back and need surgery again. Doppler-guided hemorrhoidectomy is a procedure that uses a scope with a special probe to locate the hemorrhoidal arteries so that less tissue is removed. Some studies show that it is less painful but more long term studies are needed to compare it with other procedures.

Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is a condition present at birth that restricts the tongue's range of motion. With tongue-tie, an unusually short, thick or tight band of tissue (lingual frenulum) tethers the bottom of the tongue's tip to the floor of the mouth, so it may interfere with breast-feeding. Someone who has tongue-tie might have difficulty sticking out his or her tongue. Tongue-tie can also affect the way a child eats, speaks and swallows. Sometimes tongue-tie may not cause problems. Some cases may require a simple surgical procedure for correction. Treatment for tongue-tie is controversial. Some doctors and lactation consultants recommend correcting it right away — even before a newborn is discharged from the hospital. Others prefer to take a wait-and-see approach. Frenotomy Tongue-tie and release of lingual frenulum Tongue-tie A simple surgical procedure called a frenotomy can be done with or without anesthesia in the hospital nursery or doctor's office. The doctor examines the lingual frenulum and then uses sterile scissors to snip the frenulum free. The procedure is quick and discomfort is minimal since there are few nerve endings or blood vessels in the lingual frenulum. If any bleeding occurs, it's likely to be only a drop or two of blood. After the procedure, a baby can breast-feed immediately. Complications of a frenotomy are rare — but could include bleeding or infection, or damage to the tongue or salivary glands. It's also possible to have scarring or for the frenulum to reattach to the base of the tongue. Frenuloplasty A more extensive procedure known as a frenuloplasty might be recommended if additional repair is needed or the lingual frenulum is too thick for a frenotomy. A frenuloplasty is done under general anesthesia with surgical tools. After the frenulum is released, the wound is usually closed with sutures that absorb on their own as the tongue heals. Possible complications of a frenuloplasty are similar to a frenotomy and are rare — bleeding or infection, or damage to the tongue or salivary glands. Scarring is possible due to the more extensive nature of the procedure, as are reactions to anesthesia. After a frenuloplasty, tongue exercises might be recommended to enhance tongue movement and reduce the potential for scarring.

A lipoma is a lump under the skin that occurs due to an overgrowth of fat cells. Doctors consider lipomas to be benign tumors, which means that they are non-cancerous growths. However, people may wish to remove a lipoma that causes pain, complications, or other symptoms. Some people also have concerns about the cosmetic appearance of lipomas. Lipomas can occur anywhere on the body where fat cells are present, but they tend to appear on the shoulders, chest, trunk, neck, thighs, and armpits. In less common cases, they may also form in internal organs, bones, or muscles. Lipomas feel soft and may move slightly under the skin when people press down on them. They usually grow slowly over a period of months or years and typically reach a size of around 2–3 centimeters (cm). Occasionally, people have giant lipomas, which can grow to more than 10 cm. At Sukhayu Hospital we have successfully treated many patients with lipomatosis

The Bartholin's glands are located on each side of the vaginal opening. These glands secrete fluid that helps lubricate the vagina. Sometimes the openings of these glands become obstructed, causing fluid to back up into the gland. The result is relatively painless swelling called a Bartholin's cyst. If the fluid within the cyst becomes infected, you may develop a collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue (abscess). A Bartholin's cyst or abscess is common. Treatment of a Bartholin's cyst depends on the size of the cyst, how painful the cyst is and whether the cyst is infected. Sometimes home treatment is all you need. In other cases, surgical drainage of the Bartholin's cyst is necessary. If an infection occurs, antibiotics may be helpful to treat the infected Bartholin's cyst.

If you have an anal fissure that hasn’t healed with self-help measures and medical treatments, we may suggest you a procedure to treat it. An anal fissure is a small tear or ulcer (open sore) in your skin around the opening of your anus. There are several different types of procedures available, including injections with botulinum toxin, removal of the fissure (excision or fissurectomy) and sphincterotomy. We may suggest you have a procedure called a fissurectomy alongside Botox injections. This involves cutting away the damaged skin from around your anal fissure, along with any ‘sentinel’ skin tags (lumps of skin associated with the fissure).

Male circumcision is an operation to remove the foreskin that covers the tip of the penis. The functions of the foreskin include protecting the head of the penis and contributing to sexual sensations. While recent research suggests that circumcision may bring some medical benefits, some doctors believe these are too small to justify surgery. A medical circumcision is a circumcision performed to treat a disease, such as pathological phimosis (lichen sclerosis), recurrent balanitis or recurrent urinary tract infections. A request circumcision is a circumcision performed for non-medical reasons, such as parental preference, religious reasons or to potentially prevent disease at some future time.There are different methods of circumcision. Either local or general anaesthesia should always be used. The procedure involves numbing the area with local anaesthetic creams or injection. A bell-shaped instrument is inserted under the foreskin to separate it from the penis. The foreskin is then removed using scissors or a scalpel. Alternatively, circumcision can be performed as a formal surgical procedure, using dissolving sutures or tissue glue.

You’ve had painful attacks caused by gallstones. To treat the problem, your doctor advised to remove your gallbladder? This surgery is called cholecystectomy. Removing the gallbladder can relieve pain. It will also prevent future attacks. You can live a healthy life without your gallbladder. You may also be able to go back to eating foods you enjoyed before your gallbladder problems started. There are 2 methods for removing the gallbladder. We will choose which method is best for you: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This is most common. During surgery, 2 to 4 small incisions are made. A thin tube with a camera is used. This is called a laparoscope. The scope is put through one of the incisions. It sends images to a video screen. Surgical tools are put through other incisions. The gallbladder is removed using the scope and these tools. Open cholecystectomy. One larger incision is made. The surgeon sees and works through this incision. Open surgery is most often used when scarring or other factors make it a better choice for you. In some cases, safety requires a change from laparoscopic to open surgery during the procedure.

Appendicitis means inflammation of the appendix. When the appendix is inflamed it causes pain and makes you feel unwell. What are the benefits of surgery? You will no longer get appendicitis. Surgery should prevent you from having serious complications that appendicitis can cause. Are there any alternatives to surgery? Antibiotics can be used to treat inflammation or an abscess, but only if you are well enough. If an abscess continues or if you become unwell even with antibiotics, you will need an operation. What does the operation involve? An appendicectomy is usually performed under a spinal anaesthetic. The operation usually takes between half an hour and an hour. We will remove the appendix either by using the laparoscopic (keyhole) technique or by an open cut in the abdomen.

A hydrocele is a sac of fluid that forms around a testicle. It occurs when fluid builds up in the layer of tissue that covers the testicle. It may be caused by an infection or by injury to the testicle. But the cause is often not known. A large hydrocele can cause pain or swelling in the scrotum. Hydrocelectomy is surgery to remove the hydrocele. The procedure takes about 30 minutes. You will likely go home on the same day.

Hernia repair surgery is the world’s most common surgical procedure. Hernia surgery can help to relieve pain, return the hernia abdominal organs to their correct place and, strengthen the weak muscle area. A hernia operation usually takes around an hour as a day case procedure. It can be performed by: • Open surgery – under local or general anaesthetic, an incision usually around 2.5 to 3 inches is made to your skin near your hernia and your surgeon will push your hernia back into your abdomen. The incision is then either stitched closed or much more commonly a mesh is placed over the hole and fixed using fine stitches. The mesh acts like a scaffold and your own tissue will grow through the mesh to reinforce the weakened area without putting tension on the surrounding tissues. • Keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery – under general anaesthetic, several smaller incisions are made to allow surgeon to use a less invasive technique using various special instruments including a tiny telescopic camera to repair your hernia. A mesh may then be used to strengthen your abdominal wall. If hernia surgery is recommended, we will advise on the most appropriate type of surgery based on the location and severity of your hernia.