FAQs and Other Useful Information

Choose from the following list based on your information needs. The information on the instruction sheets is generic in nature-it has not been customized to your specific procedure. The links under "The World Wide Web" are links outside of Kaiser Permanente. If you have a specific question that you cannot find an answer for on these pages, or there is anything that you are confused about, please contact your physician or the advice nurse.

If your problem is an emergency, call 911. The Emergency Room is open 24 ours 7 days a week.

The following topics are included for your easy reference:

INGUINAL HERNIAS

What is an inguinal hernia?

How many inguinal hernias do we do at Kaiser Santa Clara?

We do about 700 to 800 adult and about 400 pediatric ingiunal hernias every year.

What is an open inguinal hernia repair?

What is a laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair?

Which option is best for you?

There is no correct answer to this question. Treatment options have to be tailored to each individual's inguinal hernia, depending on size, symptoms, medical history and risks. In general, at Kaiser Santa Clara we feel that a patient with a single sided new inguinal hernia should be repaired with the open technique, while a patient with bilateral (both sides) or someone with a recurrent single hernia would be a good candidate for the laparoscopic approach. There are many conditions in which a laparoscopic approach is just not possible. The details of any option will be discussed with the patient at the time when the patient meets the surgeon. All our general surgeons are fully capable and skilled at doing both an open or laparoscopic approach.

GALLBLADDER DISEASE

What are gallstones and what problems can they cause?

Should I have surgery to treat gallstone attacks?

What is cholecystitis ( acute inflammation of the gallbladder)?

What types of surgeries are commonly available symptomatic gallstone ( also called biliary colic)?

Open Cholecystectomy

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

How many gallbladder surgeries a year do you do at Santa Clara Kaiser?

We do about 700-800 gallbladder surgeries every year. This includes both the elective gallbladder surgeries as well as the more emergent procedure we have to do on patients who have been admitted the hospital through the ER.

When will I not be a candidate for laparoscopic surgery?

HEMORRHOID DISEASE

What are hemorrhoids?

What can do to prevent symptomatic hemorrhoids problems?

What are treatment options?

How many hemorrhoidal cases do you see at Santa Clara Kaiser each year?

Our proctology clinic is very busy seeing a variety of anorectal problems and diseases. One category of anorectal problems we see frequently is hemorrhoid disease. We see about 700 new cases of hemorrhoidal problems a year. Of these, probably 95% are successfully treated in our clinic without having to go to surgery.

INCISIONAL AND VENTRAL HERNIAS

What are Incisional or Ventral hernias?

What are my surgical options?

Laparoscopic vs Open Ventral/ Incisional Repair

How many Incisional or Ventral surgeries do you do in a year at Santa Clara Kaiser?

BREAST CARE AND SURGERY

What are the recommendations for mammogram screening?
Health Encylopedia: Mammogram

Is Breast MRI for You?
Breast MRI screening

Myths about Breast Care

Surgery Clinic: Open Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm

• (408) 851-2000

Kaiser Medical Call Center(After Clinic hours and weekends):

• (408) 554-9800

Anesthesia comments or questions (calls returned in 24 hours; not for emergencies)

• (408) 236-5776

Disclaimer
If you think you have a MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY or go to the nearest hospital. DO NOT attempt to access emergency care through this web site. An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to your bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. An emergency medical condition is also "active labor," which means a labor when there is inadequate time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery or if a transfer poses a threat to the health of the member or unborn child.

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