General Surgery
General Surgery is used to treat several different areas of the body, including the stomach, liver, intestines, appendix, breasts, thyroid gland, and the skin. Our highly skilled general surgeons also perform many cancer surgeries.
Across all of our sites, we perform hundreds of general surgeries every year. Our caring team is always putting the needs of our patients first so that you can get back home, healthy, to enjoy your family.
We offer general surgery programs at our Ajax Pickering, Bowmanville, Oshawa and Port Perry sites. For more information about your booking, please contact your surgeon's office directly.
Directions
At our Lakeridge Health Ajax Pickering site, enter through the West Entrance, follow the signs for Day Surgery. It is past the first hallway on the right.
At Lakeridge Health Bowmanville, enter through the main entrance and take the B elevators to the Surgical Registration Office located on the first floor, in room 101.
At Lakeridge Health Oshawa, from the main lobby, take the escalator to the second floor. The Surgical Registration Desk is located through the doors to the right.
At Lakeridge Health Port Perry, enter through the west entrance and come to the Registration Desk in the Emergency Department.
Before Your Surgery
It's important not to eat or smoke after the specific time limit as this may increase your anaesthetic risk and delay your surgery. Please no chewing gum, lozenges, hard candy or milk six hours before your surgery, no alcohol 24 hours before your surgery, and no solid foods eight hours before surgery. You can continue to drink water up to three hours before your surgery.
If you've been advised to take medications the day of your surgery, please take them with a sip of water at 6 a.m. You should not take any aspirin, blood thinners or diabetic medications unless specifically told to do so by your surgeon or the anesthetist.
You may shower or bathe before coming to the hospital but please remove any nail polish and body piercings. We ask that you not wear make-up, and if you normally wear contact lenses, to wear your glasses on the day of your surgery. You should also bring any hearing aids, canes and walkers if you require them, and label everything.
You'll want to wear comfortable loose fitting clothing and shoes. Please don't bring any valuables.
What To Expect
After you report to the registration desk, you'll be asked to wait in the waiting room until a support attendant arrives to take you to a change room. You'll be asked to change into a hospital gown that ties up in the back and a housecoat that goes over the gown and ties up like a jacket at the front. You'll be given booties to wear on your feet and a clear plastic bag for your belongings that will be locked up during your procedure.
You will then be directed to a surgical waiting area where you will wait to meet members of your surgical team. They will take you into the operating room while your family members will be directed to an appropriate waiting area. Your relatives can track your progress on the Family Tracking monitor in the waiting area as each patient is given an indentifying number and a card showing the colours of each area you'll be travelling to on your surgical journey.
Watch our video of what to expect when you visit Lakeridge Health for surgery.