A colonoscopy examines your large intestine, including your rectum and colon. It’s a routine procedure, but if you’re stressed at the thought of your upcoming appointment, you’re not alone. Your colonoscopy probably won’t be as bad as you think, and here’s why. Colonoscopies are minimal risk Colonoscopies are diagnostic tests used to examine your rectum and…
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If you are extremely obese and have tried without success to get your weight under control, your healthcare provider may recommend a bariatric surgical procedure known as biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD/DS). This is usually known as the duodenal switch. It can help you lose more weight than either the gastric bypass or the…
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Cervical cancer is the “cancer we can eliminate”, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it urged its member states to consign the disease to history. According to Cancer Research UK there are around 3200 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the UK each year, with the disease responsible for 853 UK deaths each…
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Your doctor may recommend surgery to remove part or all your thyroid gland if it’s overactive, has grown exceptionally large, or has nodules, cysts or other growths that are—or could be—cancerous. Here are 8 essential questions to ask before you schedule thyroid surgery. 1. How much of my thyroid will be removed? It depends on…
Read MoreCancer is the second leading cause of death globally, accounting for an estimated 9.6 million deaths, or one in six deaths in 2018. Cancer also kills more people worldwide than HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. And in South Africa, the country’s largest medical aid provider, Discovery, said that in 2018, its Discovery…
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Why an early diagnosis can mean a better quality of life. Rectal cancer is the cancer nobody wants to talk about, but the need for a conversation is becoming urgent. Combined with colon cancer, it’s the third most common cancer in the United States, and diagnoses have been rising each year in people younger than…
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BREAST CANCER OVERVIEW Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in the United States. Finding and treating breast cancer in the early stages allows many women to be cured. This article will focus on the surgical treatment of breast cancer. An introduction to breast cancer and an overview of treatment for breast cancer are…
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1. What is prognosis (outlook)? Prognosis, also called outlook, is an estimate of the course and outcome of a disease, such as the likelihood of it coming back (recurrence) and the person’s life expectancy. After a diagnosis of breast cancer, people often worry about their prognosis but vary in the amount of information they want to…
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As with sleeve gastrectomy, this procedure begins with the surgeon removing a large part of the stomach. The valve that releases food to the small intestine is left, along with the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. The surgeon then closes off the middle section of the intestine and attaches the last…
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The Durban Metabolic Surgery Centre, run by well-known surgeons Dr Gert du Toit and Dr Ivor Funnell, has been accredited by the South African Society for Surgery, Obesity and Metabolism (SASSO) to perform the highly advanced Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (BPD-DS) surgery. Performing procedures at Netcare St Augustine’s and Netcare uMhlanga hospitals, Drs Du…
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