Savitha Bhagvan
Ascot Hospital, 90 Green Lane East, Remuera, Auckland
021 027 99091
[email protected]
Qualifications
MB BS 1996 Bangalore; FRACS (GS) 2016
Profile
Dr Savitha Bhagvan is a Consultant General, Trauma and Acute Care Surgeon at Auckland City Hospital, and in private practice at Mercy Specialist Centre. After finishing surgical training in India, she moved to New Zealand in 2003 and underwent further surgical training in New Zealand and Australia.
She obtained her Fellowship from Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) in 2016 in General Surgery. She underwent post fellowship training in Trauma at Westmead Hospital, Sydney. She received the Fellowship of American College of Surgeons (FACS) in 2022.
Her interests are in General Surgery, Trauma and Research. Her subspecialty interest is in injuries of the chest and rib fracture management.
She is a member of Chest Wall Injury Society (CWIS), Australian & New Zealand Trauma Society (ANZTS), Australian and New Zealand association for Surgery of Trauma (ANZAST), American College of Surgeons (ACS) and American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST).
She is a committee member of Northern Regional Trauma Network, and Director of ANZTS. She is an instructor for Early Management of Severe Trauma (EMST or ALTS) and Definitive Surgical Trauma Care (DSTC).
Referral Expectations
When you come to your appointment, your surgeon will ask questions about your illness and examine you to try to determine or confirm the diagnosis. This process may also require a number of tests (e.g. blood tests, x-rays, scans etc). Sometimes this can all be done during one visit, but for some conditions this will take several follow-up appointments. Occasionally some tests are arranged even before your appointment to try to speed up the process.
Once a diagnosis has been made, your surgeon will discuss treatment with you. In some instances this will mean surgery, while other cases can be managed with medication and advice. If surgery is advised, the steps involved in the surgical process and the likely outcome are usually discussed with you at this time.
Procedures / Treatments
Skin Disorders
Skin conditions dealt with by general surgery include lumps, tumours and other lesions of the skin and underlying tissues. These are often fairly simple conditions that can be dealt with by performing minor operations under local anaesthetic (the area of skin being treated is numbed). Often these procedures are performed as outpatient or day case procedures.
Breast Disorders
General surgery covers breast diseases including breast cancer. These conditions are often initially dealt with in a specialised breast clinic which is able to perform a number of investigations (e.g. mammography, ultrasound, needle biopsy) during the initial outpatient clinic visit.
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Conditions of the gut dealt with by general surgery include disorders of the oesophagus, stomach, small bowel, large bowel and anus. These range from complex conditions such as ulceration or cancer in the bowel through to fairly minor conditions such as haemorrhoids. Many of the more major conditions such as bowel cancer will require surgery, or sometimes treatment with medication, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Gallstones
General surgery covers some disorders of the liver and biliary system. The most common of these is pain caused by gallstones. These are formed if the gallbladder is not working properly, and the standard treatment is to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy). This procedure is usually performed using a laparoscopic (keyhole) approach.
Hernias
A hernia exists where part of the abdominal wall is weakened, and the contents of the abdomen push through to the outside. This is most commonly seen in the groin area but can occur in other places. Surgical treatment is usually quite straightforward and involves returning the abdominal contents to the inside and then reinforcing the abdominal wall in some way
Title or Designation
Trauma, Acute Care & General Surgeon
Gender
Female / Wāhine
Full NZ Registration Date
29 January 2009, Vocational Scope, General Surgery