We like to see all our patients within the first week of discharge. This gives us the opportunity to report on the results of pathology which might not be available after a short in-hospital stay, If this leads to further treatment then this can be organised. Also if there is a complication which is developing we can deal with that in a timely manner. Patients and their family often have further questions which we can answer at that time. Wound swelling is common and most does not require treatment if mild but we can diagnose the common causes for this symptoms at this visit; sometimes fluid might be aspirated with a needle and syringe. We sometimes need to start antibiotics.

Many patients will ring the ward and their GP but during this time I am keen that you ring me or one of my team. We want to know if there is a problem and deal with it promptly; this might speed up recovery

 

If we have operated near the nerves to the vocal cords this is a time when my Nurse practitioner or I would perform a nasendoscopy to check the vocal cords; we like to do this on all our patients to ensure that there are no problems; even if the voice sounds normal there can still be an issue, and in only 50% of cases where the voice is hoarse is there a problem with the cords moving properly; the rest are due to swelling, and minor local trauma from having a breathing tube for the anaesthetic

Usually my anaesthetist will ring you a few days after going home to ensure that his side of things is going well and they will let me know if there is a surgical issue

 

We will be able to gauge how your are progressing and provide a work certificate or carer's certificate at this visit.

 

We will arrange blood tests to check thyroid hormone and calcium levels if needed, and other procedures have specific investigations to ensure that we are on track for recovery

 

Sometimes we will arrange one of our paramedical colleagues to see you such as a speech therapist

 

If there are bills to be paid then my secretaries will present you an account and assist with expediting payment and we have a separate section that deals with the somewhat complex arrangements we have in place in Australia to sort out Medicare Health fund and out of pocket expenses