Travelling For Surgery

• Review the procedure page for the surgery you are considering to ensure you understand the recovery, costs, possible rebates and possible outcomes.
• Send us a message below or call us on 4920 7700 letting us know that you are at outside Newcastle and would like to consider surgery with Dr Moncrieff
• We will then you to email us some photos to show your areas of concern
• Our Practice Manager will then arrange a time to talk to you about the surgical journey. Make sure you let her know if there are specific dates you are considering for surgery.

• Hotels: for patients being operated on at Charlestown Private, many patients stay at the Apollo Hotel which is located within a 1 minute walk, or the Mercure which is also very close.
• For Lingard Private, you may consider one of the hotels closer to the city, such as the Novotel or Rydges. Or the Merewether Motel is around a 10 minute walk from Lingard so ideal for longer stays if your partner is travelling with you.
• Other patients have found booking an Air BnB or Stayz rental has been an affordable option for longer stays
• How long to stay in Newcastle after discharge? For breast procedures we recommend 3-7 days after surgery (depending on size and complexity). For tummy tucks or similar, we recommend 10-14 days after the surgery.
• We also recommend a support person to travel with you. Not just for moral support, but to help you with carrying bags or getting meals etc.

• Our airport is the Newcastle Airport, based in Williamtown. It is known as NTL and on some airline websites will appear as Newcastle/ Port Stephens.
• Newcastle is also serviced by rail, including from Sydney. The Broadmeadow station has regional and local services and it approximately 15 minutes by taxi from our office.

We are currently trialing a service that can assist travelling patients with discharge from hospital and visits during recovery. More about Relax and Recover is on our recent news post here.

• You can choose to travel to Newcastle for a personal consultation with Dr Moncrieff or have a video consultation with him if you live more than 2 hours away.
• After your personal or video consultation with Dr Moncrieff, you can book in surgery
• The process from there can be done over phone and email until you arrive back in Newcastle a day or two before your surgery.

• While you are in the recovery phase, you may want to limit physical activities
• However, if you come a few days earlier or you are feeling well before you return home, you may want to take advantage of the wealth of experiences the Hunter offers.
• You may want to visit the Visit Newcastle website and the Hunter Valley Wine Country website.
• Those sites detail everything from whale watching and beautiful beaches to visit to five star dining and wine tastings (the latter being more for your first visit for a consultation or for your support person as alcohol before or after surgery inhibits recovery!)

• We provide comprehensive instructions to help you manage your recovery at home which answer all the most frequently asked questions from our patients
• You should also ensure you have a GP you feel confident in who can assist with dressing changes (especially for larger procedures)
• We can arrange nurse check-ups by phone
• We do need to see you at least once (or twice for larger surgery) after you return home, so this should be factored into your surgery plans
• And we are just a phone call or email away to answer any of your questions once you are home!