The following information and advice sheets are intended for public patients of Mr James Aitken.
Mr James Aitken founded Perth Colorectal Surgery and indeed this website.
He has now retired from private practice and works exclusively in the public sector at both Sir Charles Gairdner and Osborne Park Hospitals.
Separate information and advice sheets for Mr Rupert Hodder and Mr Andrew Finlayson can be found throughout this website.
You will wish to have as much information as possible about your condition and treatment. Although this will be explained at the time of your consultation it is easy for patients to forget important parts of their management. Patients may also wish to share this information with family, friends, carers and others so they too know what to expect.
I have used written advice sheets for many years – long before the internet was readily available. The aim of these advice sheets is to provide you with written information about your treatment in a manner that you can review whenever and wherever you wish. By now placing these on the internet they are immediately available to others.
Please note these are general advice sheets. There may be issues that are particularly important to you. I will deal with these individually.
You will also find a lot of information on the internet. It is of variable quality and some information is not appropriate to the care that I will recommend to you. You need to be careful when you compare your problems with those you read about on the internet. Every patient and every condition is different. Even small variations in presentation may mean a very different type of treatment.
I update these advice sheets on a regular basis. They incorporate many useful suggestions made by previous patients. I would welcome any comments and feedback that you feel would further improve these advice sheets.
*These advice sheets were last updated on 9 December 2010.
Mr. R J Aitken's services include the management of wide range of general & colorectal surgical care including
I offer a wide range of General Surgical services for patients presenting with both elective and emergency problems. This includes many abdominal operations, gall bladder resections, hernias surgery of all types, excision of skin lesions, insertion of infusion ports for chemotherapy, vasectomies etc. I do not treat patients with breast or endocrine disorders.
I have written a large number of advice sheets for patients presenting with General Surgical problems. These can be accessed by clicking here.
I have a special interest in colorectal surgery. This includes patients with minor colorectal problems like itching, incontinence, haemorrhoids, fistulas and fissures.
I also manage patients requiring major surgery for complex inflammatory bowel disease and those requiring major operations for bowel cancer.
In particular, I have a long experience in the management of patients with rectal cancer. These patients require accurate pre-operative staging with detailed scans. I work closely with Medical and Radiation Oncologists so the value of pre-operative adjuvant therapy can be determined in advance for each individual patient. This close co-operation is also required in the follow-up period.
When clinically appropriate I offer laparoscopic (key hole) colorectal surgery. I also treat patients by Transanal Endoscopic Microscopic Surgery (TEMS). This requires highly specialised equipment that is available at Joondalup Health Campus.
My advice sheets for patients presenting with colorectal problems can be accessed by clicking here