Minor Surgery Clinics

Minor Surgery

Patient First's clinicians have a long history of providing Minor Surgery services to the people of Newham. We have a dedicated operating suites at our head office site in central Stratford, equipped with medical technology to provide minor surgery to patients with a range of conditions such as removal of skin lesions, Cysts, Lipomas and many more procedures.

Operations are carried out by our own skilled teams of GPs, who are supported by experienced HCA's.

Procedures are carried out on the day of your appointment.

All referrals to the Minor Surgery service are triaged before an appointment with a surgeon is booked. On the day of your appointment the surgeon will assess your condition and then explain the procedure. Most people opt to have the surgery on the same day, however you can always request to be rebooked if you wish to think about it. The patient will have the opportunity to ask any questions to reassure them about the procedure and when they are happy they will be asked to sign a consent form.

All operations are performed under local anaesthetic (numbing of the affected area while the patient remains awake).

Please see below for some more information about the services we provide.

Joint Injections

Joint injections or aspirations (taking fluid out of a joint) are usually performed under local anaesthesia. After the skin surface is thoroughly cleaned, the joint is entered with a needle attached to a syringe. At the point, either joint fluid can be obtained and sent for appropriate laboratory testing or medications can be injected into the joint space. This technique also applies to injections into a bursa or tendon to treat tendonitis and bursitis, respectively.

Ingrowing Toenails

For a recurrent ingrowing toenail, a doctor may need to remove a portion of your toenail along with the underlying tissue (nail bed) to prevent that part of your nail growing back.

To help prevent an ingrowing toenail:

Trim your toenails straight across. Don't curve your nails to match the shape of the front of your toe. If you have circulation problems in your feet from disorders such as diabetes or peripheral vascular disease, see a chiropodist regularly to have your nails professionally trimmed.
Keep toenails at a moderate length. Trim toenails so that they're even with the tips of your toes. If you trim your toenails too short, the pressure from your shoes on your toes' tissue may direct your nails to grow into the tissue.
Wear shoes that fit properly. Shoes that place excessive pressure on your toes or pinch your toes may cause your nails to grown into surrounding tissue. If you have nerve impairment to you feet, you may not be able to sense if your shoes fit too tightly. Take care to buy and wear properly fitted shoes, preferably from a shoe store specialising in fitting shoes for people with foot problems. Wear protective footwear. If your work puts you at risk of injuring your toes, buy footwear such as steel-toed shows, which protect your toes.

Excision

This is a long and well established method of treating many conditions such as lipoma, sebaceous cyst, naevus. First a local anaesthetic is injected to numb the operating site. Skin is then cut and the lesion is removed and sent for histopathological examination at a lab. The wound is then closed by sutures (stitches). Sutures are usually removed by a Practice Nurse at your surgery within 5 to 14 days depending on the site of the wound, though in many cases the surgeon may use sutures that disolve by themsleves. Most of the patients who undergo this procedure will be able to drive home on the same day unless specifically asked by the operating doctor otherwise.

The majority of patients who have this procedure do not have a lot of time off work. However, it does depend on the type of work that the patient does and the site and size of the lesion.

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Minor Surgery