Richard Gallagher

A surgical oncologist is a surgeon who specialises in diagnosing and treating cancer. Not all of my patients require surgery. I am part of a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) at St Vincent’s and The Kinghorn Cancer Centre. The team includes head & neck surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, speech pathologists, dentists, dietitians, social workers, specialist nurses and cancer care coordinators. We assess each patient individually and agree a treatment pathway suited to your needs. Sometimes this includes surgery, sometimes it doesn’t.

Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery is the official name of a surgeon who deals with issues concerning the ear, nose, throat, head and neck. I have trained in all aspects of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery but now I almost exclusively see patients with Head & Neck problems.

No, private health insurance does not cover medical consultations or examinations that are provided out-of-hospital.

Yes. I want to see a copy of your referral before you make an appointment. You can email or fax the referral to our practice. I read all referrals before an appointment is made. Based on your referral I may want you to have some testing done before your first appointment.

Yes.

• A valid referral from your GP or specialist
• All x-rays, scans and ultrasounds relevant to the present problem
• Blood test results
• Biopsy results
• Medicare, DVA and private health fund information

A friend or relative is welcome to come with you. Please fill out patient registration forms before you arrive.

This depends upon the nature of your problem. I personally read your referral to determine your appointment timeframe. Head and neck cancers are highly aggressive so I have to prioritise patients with confirmed and suspected malignancies.

I schedule twenty minutes to see each new patient. Many of my patients have very complex problems and sometimes I have to give them tough news. I am not good at rushing people out the door. Emergencies also happen from time to time and unfortunately I can run very late. My staff will always try to contact you and let you know if I am running behind time. If you cannot keep your appointment please let them know and they will rebook you.

Patients with a cancer seen on a Tuesday morning may need to be with us for the entire day. This is so you can attend the Head & Neck Multidisciplinary Team Meeting (MDT) at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre and be properly consented for treatment. It is a time consuming process but it means that you are reviewed by a team of highly experienced experts from a range of specialties. It allows us to devise the best treatment pathway for you and eliminate the need for multiple appointments and excess travel. I see many patients from interstate and regional NSW on these days.

A direct video endoscopy is a minor procedure which gives me a magnified, high definition, live action view of your nose, throat and larynx. I put a flexible tube combining a light and video camera into one of your nostrils while you’re sitting upright in a chair. I spray local anaesthetic in your nose to numb it so I can pass the scope. You may feel me moving around. It should not hurt or be uncomfortable. The video camera is linked to a screen and the examination is recorded so we can look at the images together.

All Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgeons perform nasolaryngoscopies to examine patients but my practice is one of the very few in Australia which uses videoscopes. The great advantage of videscopes over standard flexible telescopes is that they provide a superior (4K) magnified image on a wide screen. The videos I record during your consultations are saved to your medical record used to track your progress following treatment. I originally used fibreoptic telescopes in my practice but I changed over to video in 2013. This was because I recognised that the superior image offered by video significantly improves my ability to identify pre-cancerous and cancerous changes in the lining of the throat and voicebox.

If you require surgery you will be given a quote. It is part of a document called an Informed Financial Consent. The quote will give you the Medicare Item numbers relating to your surgery, my estimated fee, the expected rebate, and the estimated gap or out of pocket payment. You can then contact your private health fund and check the extent to which you are covered. My fee does not include services provided by other doctors, such as anaesthetists, radiologists or pathologists, or other costs associated with your stay in the hospital such as accommodation, pharmacy or physiotherapy. If you cannot afford private treatment then please talk to my staff about alternatives.

No, I don’t. “No Gap” schemes are designed for routine, high volume procedures. The work I do is highly complex and varies enormously from one patient to another.

The St Vincent’s Clinic website has excellent information about transport and accommodation: https://stvincentsclinic.com.au/home/getting-here/how-to-get-here

If you are a NSW resident and live more than 100km from your nearest available specialist medical treatment centre you may be eligible for the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS). More information is available on the NSW HealthShare website: http://www.enable.health.nsw.gov.au/services/iptaas

Yes, you might. Once I have read your referral my staff will contact you to arrange any tests that need to be completed before you see me.

Some of my surgical patients are in and out of hospital in less than a day. Some are in hospital for weeks. Discussing the length of time you have off work, the time you will need to recover, and your long term management is all part of our discussion and consent for surgery.

If you are a NSW resident and live more than 100km from your nearest available specialist medical treatment centre you may be eligible for the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS). More information is available on the NSW HealthShare website: http://www.enable.health.nsw.gov.au/services/iptaas