Procedures
Common procedures and operations: why they are done, what happens, recovery and risks, linked to the anatomy involved. Educational; individual advice comes from the treating team.
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Blood transfusion
Donated blood components given into a vein: red cells for anaemia and blood loss, platelets for low counts with bleeding, fresh frozen plasma and…
Bronchoscopy
A thin flexible scope is passed through the nose or mouth, between the vocal cords and down the trachea into the bronchi of each lung, to inspect the airways,…
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Caesarean section
Birth of a baby through a cut in the lower abdomen and in the lower segment of the uterus, usually under a spinal or epidural anaesthetic so that the person is…
Cardiac catheterisation
Thin tubes are passed through an artery or vein to the heart to measure pressures and oxygen levels in its chambers, inject contrast into the coronary arteries…
Cataract surgery
The cloudy natural lens of the eye is broken up with ultrasound through a 2-3 mm incision at the edge of the cornea and sucked out, and a folded plastic lens…
Chest masculinisation (top surgery)
Removal of most of the breast tissue and excess skin, with resizing and repositioning of the nipples, to give a flat chest with a male contour; a common…
Cholecystectomy
Removal of the gallbladder, the small sac under the liver that stores bile. The commonest planned abdominal operation, almost always done by keyhole surgery.…
Colonoscopy
A flexible camera is passed through the anus around the whole large intestine to the caecum and often into the last part of the small intestine. Polyps found…
Coronary angioplasty and stenting
A narrowed or blocked coronary artery is opened from inside. A fine wire is steered across the narrowing through a catheter from the wrist or groin, a balloon…
Coronary artery bypass grafting
Open-heart surgery that routes blood around blocked coronary arteries using the patient's own vessels: the internal mammary artery from inside the chest wall…