Specialist Breast Cancer & Thyroid Surgeon
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT HAPPENS AT MY FIRST APPOINTMENT?
When you call Chilton's main rooms you will be given the option of seeing Chilton at his nearest consulting suites and asked to bring your GP referral.
You will be asked to arrive 10-15 minutes early to complete a patient registration form or you can complete this online prior if you prefer. Patients are most welcome to bring along a close friend of relative for support if they wish.
During your consultation Chilton will take a history and perform a physical examination, including any bedside ultrasound or procedures at no extra charge. After your meeting Chilton may then have his friendly medical secretaries to arrange further investigations (such as core biopsies or imaging), specialist referrals as well as any review appointments as necessary.
Should you forget to ask anything simply phone or email Chilton's rooms at anytime.
I'M WORRIED I MIGHT HAVE BREAST CANCER - IS THIS NORMAL?
Chances are that if you’re reading this, either you or someone you care for, needs to be referred to a breast surgeon because of a suspicious breast lump. It's understandable and natural to feel anxious and look for advice from family or friends or look up "Dr Google" as a result.
Chilton's understands that patients are often scared but many breast conditions are in fact benign (ie: non-cancerous). Also what diagnosis or treatment may have been the case with a friend or relative often won't apply to you - everyone's case is different.
Sadly, some lumps turn out to be breast cancer and need treatment. While almost all breast cancers that Chilton sees are treatable and curable Chilton knows that a cancer diagnosis is still upsetting. You will find that Chilton has a caring and patient bedside manner and can explain often complex diagnoses and treatments in plain English that you can understand.
From diagnosis, through to treatment and recovery, Chilton will be there every step of the way and assemble for you a trusted treatment team to make the process more bearable.
PRIVATE OR PUBLIC HOSPITAL TREATMENT?
TO CONSULT WITH CHILTON
Chilton accepts GP referrals for patients to consult at any of his private rooms across Melbourne's southeast, in Bentleigh East, Mt Waverley and Berwick. You do not need private health insurance to consult with Chilton; private health insurance status only affects where you may wish to have your surgery.
TO HAVE SURGERY WITH CHILTON
If you need surgery Chilton holds both public and private admitting rights to the following hospitals to enable all his patients to be treated regardless of health insurance status.
Private Hospitals
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Mulgrave Private Hospital, Mulgrave
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Waverley Private Hospital, Mt Waverley
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St John of God Hospital, Berwick
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Holmesglen Private Hospital, Moorabbin
Public Hospitals (Monash Health)
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Moorabbin Hospital
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Casey Hospital
Privately-insured patients
Patients holding private hospital cover continuously for more than twelve months are treated in one of Chilton’s private hospitals on a date of their choosing with no wait-list. Chilton will personally perform the surgery and then oversee and be contactable for all aftercare via his private rooms.
Uninsured patients
Patients who do not have private health insurance have two options:
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As a default, uninsured patients can be referred by Chilton onto the Monash Health public hospital waiting list. It is important to disclose that for public patients Chilton may not be present at your surgery and also the date of your surgery is determined by the public hospital. Furthermore since Monash is a teaching hospital a trainee surgeon may perform your operation under the supervision of the consultant surgeon of the day. Aftercare is provided in public clinics.
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Alternatively, if an uninsured patient does not want to wait on a public elective wait list and/or wants to guarantee that Chilton himself performs their surgery they can elect to expedite their operation in a private hospital on a date of their choosing for a privately quoted fee. In such cases patients are not obligated to undertake any further surgery or postoperative treatments in private and can revert to the public setting at any time.