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What Is General Surgery?

Many people easily overcome minor illnesses. When they become sick, either they treat themselves with over the counter medications or they might take a quick trip to a physician and receive a prescription. Sometimes, people need more than just basic medicines. They need to have a something removed from inside their body, or something inside of them needs repairing. When this happens, they have a procedure known as surgery. General surgery falls under certain guidelines.

  1. The Role of the General Surgeon

    • A general surgeon's expertise and scope of practice falls around six key areas: the abdomen, digestive tract, endocrine system, breasts, skin, and blood vessels. They can treat patients with minor problems as well as patients with major ones, such as cancer. If you know anyone who has had his appendix removed or had to have a hernia operation, these are examples of general surgery. When someone has his gallbladder removed, this is also considered general surgery.

    All Surgery On The Digestive Organs Is Not General

    • Not all surgery involving the digestive organs is general surgery. General surgery is often used for basic procedures. When the surgical procedures become more complicated, the surgical removal of a section of the small intestine for example, it is given a more specific term such as colorectal surgery.

    Common General Surgeries

    • According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, three of the most common types of general surgery are the appendectomy, breast biopsies and the cholecystectomy. An appendectomy is the surgical removal of the appendix. A breast biopsy is the removal of tissue or cells for examination under a microscope. A cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder.

    Advances In General Surgery

    • Many hospitals are increasing their use of minimally invasive techniques when it comes to general surgery. The Columbia University Department of Surgery notes that laparoscopic surgery is the operation of choice for procedures such as the cholecystectomy and the appendectomy. Dr. Matthew Kohn of Cleveland Clinic has performed a cholecystectomy using a single incision through the patient's navel using the laparoscopic technique. The patient received no visible scar from the procedure and was released from the hospital two days later.

    Time Frame

    • General surgeries usually don't take very long. Depending on the severity of the condition and the skill of the surgeon performing the operation, a cholecystectomy takes around an hour, which is comparable with an appendectomy.

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