FOR PATIENTS
Learn about your road to recovery, from initial consultation to rehibilitation.
YOUR FIRST APPOINTMENT
In order to make an appointment to see Dr. Botma, you will require a referral from another healthcare practitioner (GP, other doctor, physiotherapist). Please ask your healthcare provider to refer you specifically to our practice.
We will review the referral letter from your healthcare practitioner and then contact you to arrange the most suitable time for you to come for an appointment.
YOUR INITIAL ASSESSMENT
ARRIVING AT OUR PRACTICE
Please bring appropriate clothing for the examination (singlet top for shoulders, shorts or loose pants for knees and hips) and remember to bring your documentation if you have had an injury, any x-rays or scans you may have, and your list of medical problems and medications. Please let our receptionist know you have arrived, and take a seat in the waiting room.
ASSESSMENT
Dr. Botma will call you into the consultation room. You will spend time speaking with Dr. Botma about your problem, after which he will examine your knee, shoulder, or hip.
INVESTIGATIONS
Please remember to bring any x-rays or scans that you have had. In many cases, after your initial examination, Dr. Botma will order further specific investigations (such as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan).
TREATMENT DISCUSSION AND PLANNING
After Dr. Botma has assembled all of the information and made a diagnosis, he will discuss treatment options with you. Treatment options will include both non-surgical treatments and surgical treatments, and Dr. Botma will discuss the benefits and potential risks of each.
It is important to know that you are in control of your care and treatment planning. Dr. Botma is there to provide information, answer your questions, and expertly assist you with your treatment decisions.
BEFORE SURGERY
Some injuries and conditions are best treated with surgery. Once you have made the decision to proceed with surgery, there are a number of additional steps.
FUNDING YOUR SURGERY
HEALTH INSURANCE
If you have private health insurance, you can use your private health insurance to fund your surgery. In this case, we will provide you with an estimate of your surgical expenses that you can then forward to your medical aid company to obtain an approval for your surgery. In some cases, the insurance provider will also request copies of clinical documentation and referrals, which we can provide as required.
SELF-FUNDING
If you do not have private health insurance, you may chose to fund your surgery yourself. In this case, you can simply contact the office for an estimate of your surgical expenses and then find a suitable date for your surgery.
CRUTCHES OR BRACES
If you require crutches, a sling, or a brace, then these will usually be provided for you at the hospital on the day of surgery.
ANAESTHETIC REVIEW
If you have complex medical conditions, we may arrange for you to see a specialist physician (eg. cardiologist, respiratory specialist) or an anaesthetist in order to make sure you that you are safe for surgery. Occasionally, these doctors may arrange for additional medical investigations (eg. blood tests, echocardiogram, lung function testing) prior to your surgery, just to be safe.
PREPARING YOURSELF FOR SURGERY
REHABILITATION BEFORE YOUR SURGERY
In order to get the best possible result after your surgery, it may be necessary to undergo a period of rehabilitation before your surgery, often called “pre-habilitation” (eg. patients undergoing ACL reconstruction often require a period of physiotherapy before their surgery, to regain their knee range of motion, control swelling, and improve strength pre-operatively.) We will advise you on this important process.
SMOKING
Smoking elevates the risk of anaesthetic and cardiovascular complications, impairs the healing of tendon, bone and skin, and is associated with post-operative infection, tendon repair failure and inferior patient outcomes. It is very important important that smokers quit smoking for at least 2 weeks before surgery and not start smoking for at least 3 months after surgery in order to reduce these risks as much as possible.
DAY OF SURGERY
Your surgery will be undertaken at Greenacres Hospital.
You must not eat or drink anything except for water for at least 6 hours prior to surgery, so that you have a safe anaesthetic. Generally, you can drink small amounts of water up to 2 hours before your surgery. These instructions will all be included in your pre-operative information pack.
WHERE YOUR SURGERY WILL HAPPEN
HOSPITAL
Netcare Greenacres Hospital
Cnr Cape Rd &, Rochelle Rd, Greenacres, Gqeberha, 6045
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN HOSPITAL
Once you arrive at your hospital, the nursing staff will complete your admission paperwork and will help you get changed into hospital clothes. You will then be taken to the pre-operative holding bay, where Dr. Botma, his anaesthetist and hospital support staff will meet you.
In the pre-operative holding bay, Dr. Botma will speak with you about your surgery. Your anaesthetist will place an IV line (a drip). Dr. Botma and his hospital staff will undertake repeated checks to ensure your safety, including asking you to confirm your identity, your surgery and any drug allergies that you may have.
Once all of the pre-operative checks and paperwork are complete, one of Dr. Botma’s nurses or technicians will escort you into the operating room. The operating room often seems very bright and cool, and will be full of friendly people and complicated equipment. You will have your identity checked again, and then will be helped onto the surgical bed, where you will be covered with warm blankets and given intravenous medication to help you relax. You will then breath oxygen through a soft mask, a general anaesthetic will be administered through your IV line, and you will gently fall asleep.
YOUR ANAESTHETIC
Dr. Botma works with several expert anaesthetists. You will meet your anaesthetist on the day of your surgery when you come in to hospital. They will discuss your anaesthetic options with you. If you have particular concerns about your anaesthetic, please let us know so that we schedule sufficient time for you to discuss these with your anaesthetist prior to your surgery.
AFTER SURGERY
Before you are discharged from hospital, the nursing staff will make sure that you are safe to go home, can use your crutches or sling, and will you be able to cope. Before you leave hospital, you will be given material to take home including:
- A prescription for pain relief and any other required medications
- A set of instructions about managing the first 2 weeks after surgery including caring for your wound and rehabilitation exercises
- Details about your first post-operative appointment
You will need someone to drive you home from the hospital and stay with you for at least the first night after surgery. Your first follow up appointment will usually be 10-14 days after your surgery.
YOUR REHABILITATION
Rehabilitation is essential for all patients, whether you undergo surgery or are managed non-operatively. Dr Botma will discuss rehabilitation after your surgery.