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 letting us know that you are outside Newcastle and would like to consider surgery with Dr Moncrieff
• We will then email back and ask you to include photos of the areas of concern
• Our Practice Manager Jessica 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.

• After your personal 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 the day before your surgery.

• 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.

• After your personal 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 the day before your 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.

• 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!

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.