The appointment is shorter and less uncomfortable than most people expect, and it is mostly conversation. The examination itself takes a couple of minutes, and it is what everything after depends on.
Most of it is talking. How long the symptoms have gone on, whether there is bleeding and what it looks like, what you have already tried, your medications, and whether anyone in your family has had colorectal cancer. That last question is not a formality.
Then the examination. An external look, then an anoscope, which takes a couple of minutes and is uncomfortable rather than painful. It is what establishes the grade, and the examination page describes it step by step so nothing is a surprise.
You leave knowing the grade, which options apply, roughly how many sessions a course would run to, and what it will cost. Nothing is booked on the spot unless you want it to be. If a procedure is arranged, preparation and aftercare are both covered before you leave the room.
Montreal first visit
How it goes
Your first Montreal visit, start to finish
Booking
Tell us the symptoms and how long they have gone on, and send your plan details so coverage is checked beforehand.
The history
Ten minutes of questions, including the family history ones. Nothing here needs preparation on your part.
The examination
An external look and an anoscopy, a couple of minutes, which establishes the grade and which columns are involved.
The plan
The options that apply, the likely number of sessions, the cost, and whether anything needs a referral instead.
Before you book
Getting started with Montreal hemorrhoid care
Five pages covering the appointment itself, the examination, and what happens either side of a procedure.
What people ask before a first appointment, including the parts they would rather not ask about.
Budget around half an hour. Most of that is the history and the discussion afterwards; the examination itself is a couple of minutes, and you are dressed again straight away.
It is uncomfortable rather than painful for most people, and it is brief. If you have a fissure it can be sharper, in which case we say so and adjust rather than pushing on.
Not for the consultation. Bring your medication list and your plan details. Preparation only matters once a procedure is booked, and that is covered before you leave.
Sometimes, but not as a rule. Screening comes first, and we expect an endoscopic test within a reasonable interval before banding, so a same-day procedure is not something to count on.
No. The examination needs access to one area and nothing more, you are covered throughout, and it takes a couple of minutes from start to finish. Most people are surprised how quick that part is.
It is the single most common thing people say, and it is why the visit is structured the way it is: brief, explained as it happens, and with no part of it treated as unusual.
The first visit
What the appointment is and is not
Mostly conversation
The history takes longer than the examination. Most of the appointment is questions, answers and the plan that comes out of them.
Brief and explained
The anoscopy takes a couple of minutes, and you are told what is happening as it happens rather than afterwards.
You leave with the grade
Not a maybe. The grade, the options it allows, the likely session count and the cost, all before you go.
Family history asked
The colorectal cancer questions are asked at every first visit, because they change what the bleeding needs.
Tell us the symptoms and roughly how long they have gone on, and send your plan details. We check coverage before the appointment so the visit is about the examination.
