Services and Departments : Cardiac Services

Cardiac Services

Leading edge cardiac services at St George’s Hospital


A private comprehensive and high quality service was set up in Christchurch in 2003 to meet the growing demand for high quality cardiac services (both within New Zealand and internationally).


A specialised and highly skilled team including doctors and other health professionals, has come together with the express purpose of developing and delivering the most advanced cardiothoracic services possible for patients.

St George’s Hospital was chosen because of its accredited medical facility close to the city centre and dedicated to excellence with proven quality systems in place.


 

Cardiac Surgery

The Cardiac Surgery team includes anaesthetists, surgeons, perfusionists, anaesthetic technicians, nurses and the intensive care /cardiothoracic team.


Cardiothoracic surgeons, Mr David Shaw and Mr Harsh Singh, perform the surgical procedures. They are both highly respective surgeons with extensive international experience, each with their own distinguished accomplishments. They regularly perform surgery on beating hearts rather than the traditional method of stopping the heart while they do the surgery. This technique reduces complications and patients recover more quickly than would otherwise be the case.

Other areas of expertise include the surgical management of atrial fibrillation (irregular heart beats) and left ventricular reduction surgery for heart failure. Both surgeons are accomplished in thoracic surgery, the surgical management of lung cancer as well as other diagnostic, therapeutic and thorascopic procedures. They also undertake surgery related to chest wall deformities.

The Unit at St George’s hospital is recognised as a centre of excellence for cardiac surgery in Australasia.

 


Cardiology Day Unit

The philosophy behind our innovative centre has been to combine the highest quality of care and equipment for the benefit of the patient.


The usual length of stay for:

Angiograms is 6 hours from completion of procedure patients are required to stay within the Christchurch area overnight following angiograms

Angioplasty is overnight with discharge mid morning the following day or as per Dr’s instructions

Cardioversion Approximately 3 hours

REMEMBER PATIENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO DRIVE A VEHICLE FOR 24 HOURS AFTER THEIR PROCEDURE.

Insurance

For patients with Southern Cross health insurance, the Contracts Office at St George’s Hospital will request your prior approval for the procedure. Please phone the Contracts Office on 03 355 9178 to inform them of your policy type and policy number. If you are fully covered for your procedure, your invoice will be sent directly to Southern Cross by the Contracts office. Any excess (co-payment) over and above your insured amount will need to be settled directly to us within 7 days of receiving this co-payment invoice.

For all other health insurance providers, contact your insurance company personally.

Explanation of Charges and Payment

For an indication of the cost of your procedure, please ask your Specialist for a price guide.

After your discharge from Hospital, if you are covered by any other insurance company or do not have insurance, you will receive one account from the Heart Centre @ St George’s that covers the Hospital account, the Surgeon’s account and the Anaesthetist’s account (if applicable). On receipt of this account if you are covered by any other insurance company, please forward this to your health insurer.

Patients without health insurance will need to settle their account within 7 days of the date of the invoice, unless prior arrangements have been made.

If you have any questions or difficulties, please call the Contracts Office on 03 355 9178.

Back to top ^

Medication Instructions

Unless otherwise instructed by your Dr / Specialist, all routine medications should be continued pre-procedure. It should be taken at the usual time or before leaving home.

Your Dr / Specialist should have given you instructions if you take diabetic medication or blood thinning medication. If not, please telephone them and get instructions.

What to Bring with You

  • Your information folder
  • Your prior approval number for insurance
  • Insurance policy information
  • Any medication tablets, including herbal or complementary that you are currently taking
  • Relevant X–rays and CDs pertaining to your procedure
  • Glasses, hearing aids if applicable
  • Dressing gown and slippers

Procedures

Cardiac Catheterisation

Cardiac catheterisation (often called coronary angiogram or a cardiac cath) is an x-ray procedure used to examine the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. The purpose of the test is to obtain information about these arteries, determine if there are any narrowings or blockages, and to define the position and severity of any problems. In some cases heart valve function and the pumping action of the heart is also assessed.


Coronary Angioplasty

This purpose of this procedure is to open up narrowed / blocked arteries caused by the build up of fatty deposits.


Cardioversion

Cardioversion is a procedure to restore normal heart rhythm. An electrical shock is delivered to the heart muscle under anaesthetic.

If your heart is in an abnormal rhythm (atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter), it will pump less efficiently. Some people will be unaware of this, while others may feel a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, fatigue, or have difficulty sleeping.


Contact Details

Location entry via Day Surgery Centre
133 Leinster Road
Strowan
Christchurch 8014

Phone 03 355 5600 extn 6201
Fax 0 3 355 9182

Back to top ^


The following example tags are missing curly brackets on the front.

tmpl_embed_asset assetpath="context menu"}
tmpl_embed_asset assetpath="print page"} 
tmpl_embed_asset assetid="508"} 
tmpl_embed_asset assetpath="tell a friend"} 
tmpl_embed_asset assetid="509"} 
tmpl_embed_asset assetpath="subscribe to newsletter"} 
tmpl_embed_asset assetid="numberhere"}
tmpl_embed_asset assetpath= "footer menu"}