Mater Private Specialist Quick Find

Breast and Endocrine Surgery - public patients

Clinical Lead - Dr Christopher Allen 

Purpose

This page contains information for general practitioners on how to refer patients aged 16 years and over to General Surgery – Breast and Endocrine services at Mater Hospital Brisbane

Service Availability: 

The Breast and Endocrine service accepts referrals from GPs and specialist services.

Catchment criteria applies for referrals for this service. Patient referrals from outside the Mater SEQ Catchment (which includes Metro South and West Moreton Hospital and Health Services) may not be accepted.

The Breast Surgery service consists of surgeons, clinical nurses and two accredited Breast Care Nurses. The Breast Care Nurses provide tailored information and psychosocial support to patients with Breast Cancer with face to face clinics and telephone support. Patients also have access to allied health services including physiotherapy, psychology, social work, occupational therapy and dietetics.

The Breast and Endocrine service integrates with other specialties including Medical and Radiation Oncologists, Pathologists and Research Staff at weekly multidisciplinary team meetings to establish individualised plans of care.

The Breast and Endocrine Surgery service consistently review patients within recommended OPD categorisation times 

Please note for patients who require a referral for breast reconstruction please send a named referral to the Plastic Surgery Service

How to send a referral

 

Medical Imaging Referrals

GPs can refer patients directly to Queensland X-Ray's Mater Hospital Brisbane (MHB) radiology department for relevant investigations.  If the imaging request is for FNA or core biopsy, a pathology request form is also required.

Queensland X-Ray will accept requests on any medical imaging request form or letterhead.

Telephone 07 3212 9000

Fax 07 3163 1850

Please note: in these cases this referral to Queensland X-Ray:

  • Does not constitute a referral to the Breast and Endocrine service. 
  • The referring GP is responsible for checking and acting upon the result of the investigation.
  • Queensland X-Ray is independent to Mater, and patients may incur a fee for service for direct referrals not directly linked to a valid public hospital referral.

Emergency

If any of the following are present or suspected, phone 000 to arrange immediate transfer to the emergency department or seek emergency medical advice if in a remote region:

 

View list of conditions:

  • Acute abscess at any site

 

Scope of Service

Conditions out of scope

The following conditions are not routinely provided at Mater Hospital Brisbane:

View list of conditions

  • Aesthetic or cosmetic surgery
  • Breast reduction / augmentation
  • Appearance medicine

 

Conditions in scope

Breast Surgery - Benign and Malignant

Essential information (Referral will be declined without this)

  • General referral information
  • Document details/duration symptoms
  • Document family history of breast cancer
  • Description of clinical findings
  • Medical management to date
  • Current USS/mammography results
  • Current FNAC or core biopsy results
  • Any previous relevant investigation results
  • Gynaecomastia require BMI

Additional referral information (useful for processing the referral)

  • Staging investigations e.g. Bone scan, CT scan

Other useful information for management (not an exhaustive list)

Categorisation

Available appointments are provided to our patients based on clinical priority. A process of categorisation ensures safety and equity of access.

Category 1 – urgent

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 30 days

Category 2 - Priority

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 90 days

Category 3 - Routine

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 365 days

Diagnosed breast cancer:

  • early (confined to breast)
  • locally advanced (spread to involve areas near the breast)
  • secondary spread (involving areas outside the breast e.g. lymph node

Inflammatory breast cancer (rare, involves lymphatic spread causing inflammation in the breast)

Recurrent breast malignancy

Suspicious lesion on breast screening mammography or FNAC

Suspicious breast mass on clinical examination

Ductal carcinoma-in-situ (non-invasive confined to the ducts)

Lobular carcinoma-in-situ (non-invasive confined to lobules)

Breast lump

New diagnosis or clinically suspicious of primary breast malignancy (biopsy or mammogram proven)

New discrete lump

Young women with tender, lumpy breasts

Asymmetrical nodules that persist at review after menstruation

Older women with symmetrical nodules provided that they have no localised abnormality

Any lump that increases in size

Ductal papilloma

Cyst persistently refilling or recurrent cyst

New lump during pregnancy

Breast pain

Continuous mastalgia

Localised areas of painful nodularity/ focal lesions

Nipple discharge, nipple retraction, change in skin contour

Discharge sufficient to stain clothes

Blood stained discharge

Persistent single duct

Nipple retraction/distortion

Nipple eczema

Paget's disease of the nipple

Benign breast disease for consultation

Low-risk breast lumps/cysts

Patient referred for screening for breast malignancy or prophylactic mastectomy

Nipple discharge (non-blood stained)

Ductal papilloma

Fibroadenoma (diagnostic excision biopsy if diagnostic uncertainty)

Intermittent mastalgia i.e. hormonal

Gynaecomastia where there is substantial breast enlargement breast tenderness and where breast size is disproportionate to body habitus

Gynaecomastia

Prophylactic mastectomy

 

Endocrine Surgery

Essential information (Referral will be declined without this)

  • General referral information
  • Thyroid – USS +/- FNA TFT and CXR results
  • Adrenal – CT scan results
  • Parathyroid – corrected calcium, PTH results, 24 hour urinary calcium estimation, neck ultrasound

Additional referral information (useful for processing the referral)

  • Sestamibi scan reports for parathyroid (if available)
  • Adrenal – eLFT, Renin: Aldosterone Ratio, Plasma Metanephrines, Cortisol

Other useful information for management (not an exhaustive list)

  • Refer to HealthPathways or local guidelines
  • Tirads, Bethesda cytology if available

Categorisation

Available appointments are provided to our patients based on clinical priority. A process of categorisation ensures safety and equity of access.

Category 1 – urgent

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 30 days

Category 2 - Priority

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 90 days

Category 3 - Routine

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 365 days

  • Neck mass with compressive symptoms e.g. dyspnoea, hoarseness or dysphagia
  • Dominant thyroid nodule >4cm
  • Nodules demonstrating calcification
  • Abnormal cytology result
  • Non-cystic adrenal tumour >4cm/functional adrenal tumour
  • Primary hyperparathyroidism with calcium >3.0, or r complicated with severe osteoporosis, kidney stones
  • Any evidence of airway compromise

 

  • Generalised thyroid enlargement without compressive symptoms  & recurrent thyroid cysts
  • Primary parathyroid adenoma identified on imaging with raised serum calcium and/or raised PTH
  • Thyroiditis e.g. Hashimotos
  • Other adrenal masses
  • Benign thyroid with no compression, not Functioning (normal TFTs)/simple thyroid cyst <2cm

 

 

Other Breast and Endocrine Surgery condition

Essential information (Referral will be declined without this)

Categorisation

Available appointments are provided to our patients based on clinical priority. A process of categorisation ensures safety and equity of access.

Category 1 – urgent

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 30 days

Category 2 - Priority

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 90 days

Category 3 - Routine

Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 365 days

 

 

Bulk Billed Clinics

Mater Health Services offers patients the opportunity to attend bulk billed clinics. To provide your patient with the opportunity to attend a bulk billed specialist clinic, please provide a named referral to one of our specialists listed above.

Contact Us

If you would like to discuss a referral, including clinical criteria, or update the status of a current patient please contact our priority GP phone line on 07 3163 2200 

Current Waiting Time for Appointments

We provide up to date data on how long patients are waiting for their first appointment by specialty here.

Referral Guideline Development

These Mater Referral Guidelines align with standardised best practice tools for referral to publicly funded specialist outpatient services developed in Queensland through the Clinical Prioritisation Criteria project. 

 

Content last updated: 13 December 2023

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