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What is a General Surgeon

Table of Contents

A general surgeon is in a discipline of surgery that has a central core of knowledge which embraces anatomy, metabolism, physiology, immunology, wound healing, pathology, shock and resuscitation, nutrition, neoplasia, and intensive care, all of which are a common thread through all surgical specialties. The discipline of general surgery requires responsibility for and knowledge of the pre- and post-operative as well as operative management of patients who are experiencing a wide spectrum of diseases.

This includes a variety of those which may require elective, nonoperative, or emergency surgical treatment. The depth and breadth of this knowledge might change according to the category of disease. A general surgeon must handle surgical management that demands skill in the making of complex decisions; in addition, general surgery requires competence in diagnosis as well as management and treatment, including operative intervention. Nine primary components of surgical practice are essential to any broadly based surgeon, and the purview of general surgeons; they are as follows:

  • The alimentary tract, which is that portion of the human digestive system which consists of the organs that make up food’s route as it passes through the body.
  • The abdomen, which is between the diaphragm and the pelvis, as well as its contents.
  • The head and neck, which includes vascular, trauma, congenital, endocrine, and oncologic disorders, especially tumors of the thyroid, parathyroid, salivary glands, skin, and the oral cavity.
  • The breasts, skin, and soft tissue.
  • The endocrine system, which includes the entirety of the glands in the body that produce hormones, including parathyroid, thyroid, endocrine pancreas, and adrenal.
  • The vascular or circulatory system, excluding the heart and intracranial vessels.
  • The complete care of patients who are critically ill with underlying surgical conditions in the intensive care unit, trauma and burn units, and the emergency room.
  • Surgical oncology, which includes coordinated multimodality management of cancer patients by surveillance, screening, rehabilitation, surgical adjunctive therapy, and follow-up.
  • Trauma and its comprehensive management which includes musculoskeletal, head, and hand injuries. The responsibility for each and every phase of care for the injured patient is an integral component of a general surgeon.

General surgery is a career on the cutting edge as it continually reinvents itself for surgical patients’ benefit. Procedures that were once highly invasive are now replaced with advanced technology and high-tech instrumentation. For example, major abdominal surgery has given way to laparoscopic techniques. The benefits of these advances are often accelerated recuperation, reduced pain, and reduced cost, all without the downside of reduced outcomes.

General surgeons experience a variety of cases and face different challenges on a daily basis. They have added responsibility in that they typically set the standard of a community’s surgical care. A general surgeon provides procedures that save lives every day.

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