Gynaecology services at Dunedin Hospital provide secondary level outpatient and inpatient care to the local population and tertiary level care to the wider district population (Southland).
This service provides elective and 24 hour acute care.
The rural hospitals within the Otago catchment purchase outpatient clinic services from the Dunedin Hospital based service. A Southern DHB Gynaecologist visits Ōamaru, Balclutha and Dunstan once a month.
Main areas of care are:
- Gynaecology Outpatients
- Colposcopy Clinic
- Urogynaecology Clinics
- Gynaecology Oncology Clinics
- Inpatient Services
- Early Pregnancy Clinic
- Termination of Pregnancy Services
What is Gynaecology?
Gynaecology is the area of medicine that deals with health issues and conditions that are specific to females. This generally includes the female reproductive organs and genitalia. The reproductive organs consist of the ovaries that release an egg every month, the fallopian tubes that lead from the ovaries, the uterus (womb), which is where a baby will grow if the egg is fertilised during sexual intercourse, the cervix (opening of the uterus) and the vagina.
Laparoscopy
Many gynaecological investigations are performed by laparoscopy. This is a procedure to view the inside of the abdomen (stomach) through a specially lit type of mini telescope (laparoscope) that is inserted through a small cut in the abdomen. The laparoscope also contains a small camera that sends pictures to a screen that the doctor can watch.
Sometimes surgical procedures (keyhole surgery) can be performed at the same time. A laparoscopy is performed under a general anaesthetic (you are asleep).
Obstetrics services are delivered at Dunedin Hospital, Clutha Health First, Dunstan Hospital, Ōamaru Hospital and via Telehealth at the Wanaka Lakes Health Centre.
What is Obstetrics?
Obstetrics is the area of medicine concerned with the treatment of pregnant people (antenatal), labour and delivery, and the time after childbirth (postnatal). Once pregnancy has been confirmed, regular antenatal checks should be performed by a midwife, GP or obstetrician (doctor who is specialised in obstetrics). In the first 28 weeks, these checks will be done every month but will increase as the pregnancy progresses.
- Gynaecology Assessment Clinic
- Obstetric Ultrasound
- Amniocentesis
- Chorionic Villus Sampling
- Toxaemia of Pregnancy (pre-eclampsia)
- Gestational Diabetes
- Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR)
- Epidural
- Induction of Labour
- Caesarean Section
- Foetal Distress
- Premature Baby
- Postpartum Depression
- Infertility
- In Vitro Fertilisation