Greenslopes Private Hospital
South-east of the Brisbane CBD, roughly six kilometres from the city. A large private hospital with neurosurgical services and intensive care on site.
Hospital website ›Where Dr Tollesson operates
Dr Tollesson operates at Greenslopes Private Hospital and the Queensland Children's Hospital, and consults at Spring Hill, St Andrew's Toowoomba Hospital and a monthly Townsville clinic. This page covers what a private admission involves, what to sort out beforehand, and what to ask about when a hospital is proposed.
2 hospitals
Greenslopes Private and the Queensland Children's Hospital.
Spring Hill
The consulting rooms are on Wickham Terrace, in the medical precinct immediately north of the Brisbane CBD.
Pre-admission
A separate appointment before surgery covers your health assessment and paperwork.
3 to 5 days
The published length of stay after a cervical fusion, and one to three days after a disc replacement.
THE HOSPITALS
Two Brisbane hospitals
Which one is used for a particular operation is settled at your consultation. Admission arrangements and hospital costs are confirmed by the rooms and by the hospital rather than on a website.
Queensland Children's Hospital
Queensland's tertiary paediatric hospital. Dr Tollesson's paediatric neurosurgical work is done here. Adult cervical spine surgery is not performed at this hospital.
Hospital website ›BEFORE ADMISSION
What happens between the decision and the day
Most of the preparation is administrative and medical rather than physical, and it happens in a predictable order.
01
Tests
You will usually be asked to complete blood tests before admission, and an ECG may also be performed, depending on your history and the operation planned.
02
A pre-admission appointment
A separate appointment at the hospital covers your health assessment and the paperwork. Bring an accurate list of your current medications to it.
03
Fasting, medications and admission time
You will be told your fasting requirements, your medication instructions and your admission time. Some medications need to be stopped or adjusted beforehand.
04
Cover and costs
Hospital costs are separate from the surgeon's fee. Confirm with your health fund what your policy covers for the specific procedure, and whether an excess applies.
Hospital length of stay differs by operation: approximately three to five days after a fusion, and one to three days after a disc replacement. How the various fees fit together is set out on costs and fees, and recovery after cervical spine surgery covers what happens from the day of the operation onward.
The hospital matters less than the decision that gets you there
Both are equipped for the operations described on this site, and which one is used follows from the procedure, your cover and practical considerations. The question worth spending time on is whether an operation is warranted at all, and which one fits your anatomy. That is settled at a consultation rather than by the choice of building.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about hospitals and admission
Can I choose which hospital?
It is a reasonable thing to raise. In practice the choice is shaped by the operation itself, your health fund cover and what each hospital's theatre and intensive care arrangements suit. Ask which hospital is proposed and why.
Do I need private health insurance?
These are private hospitals, so cover matters. The practice states that self-insured estimates are given for patients who do not have private health insurance, and that payment plans are available.
Is the hospital bill separate from the surgeon's fee?
Yes. Private surgery in Australia generates several separate accounts: the hospital, the surgeon, the anaesthetist and often a surgical assistant. Ask for the whole picture rather than one number.
Will I be in intensive care?
You are transferred either to intensive care or to a general ward depending on the type of surgery. For most straightforward cervical decompressions that is a normal ward, and an ICU stay does not by itself mean something has gone wrong.
How long will I be in?
The published figures are approximately three to five days after a cervical fusion and one to three days after a disc replacement. No separate figure is published for a posterior foraminotomy, so that is set at your consultation.
Why is a children's hospital on this list?
Dr Tollesson's practice covers brain and spinal surgery for adults and children, and the paediatric work is done at the Queensland Children's Hospital. Adult cervical spine surgery is not performed there.
NEXT
Where to go from here
Recovery
The published guidance on hospital stay, driving, swimming, lifting and returning to work, and what recovers quickly against what takes months.
Recovery guidance ›Costs and fees
How the separate accounts work in Australian private surgery, what the practice publishes about fees, and what to ask about directly.
See how it works ›Cervical spine surgery
What each operation does, who it suits, and how the choice between them is made.
The operations explained ›About this information
Hospital-specific arrangements, costs and visiting information are set by each hospital and are best confirmed with them directly. The admission and pre-admission descriptions are the practice's published guidance. More about Dr Tollesson.
Which hospital is used follows the operation, not the other way round.
A consultation will tell you whether an operation is warranted at all, which one fits, and what would follow. A GP or specialist referral is needed for a Medicare rebate.