General surgery in contrast to what the very definition suggests is the branch of surgery that deals with treating or improving the prognosis of diseases affecting the organs of the abdominal cavity including the intestines, colon, liver, stomach, esophagus, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, bile ducts in addition to the breast, and thyroid.
Who is a general surgeon?
A general surgeon is a surgeon who specializes in surgeries performed on the breast, thyroid, or on the organs of the abdominal cavity, which aims to treat or improve the prognosis of the diseases affecting these organs.
What diseases are treated by a general surgeon?
The disease most often treated by the surgeon are the pathologies of the breast, thyroid, and organs of the abdominal cavity. These disease in particular include hernia, ulcers, diverticulitis, neoplasms, cyst, polyposis, calculi (stone), and abdominal adhesions.
From a diagnostic point of view the general surgeon can performs biopsies of the lymph nodes, and breasts.
What are the procedures used by a general surgeon?
The procedures most commonly used by the general surgeon include diagnostic and operational endoscopy such as gastroscopy, colonoscopy, and sigmoidoscopy that allow internal diagnostic evaluation of the examined organs. The surgeon may also conduct examinations such as X-rays of the digestive tract, barium enema, CT, and MRI. Through endoscopic examinations the surgeon can remove small samples of tissue to be analyzed histologically, and conduct minor surgeries, using the laparoscopy method, such as for the removal of polyps. For major open surgeries the laparotomy method is used.
When should a patient visit a general surgeon?
A general practitioner will send a patient to a general surgeon if necessary. Another reason to visit the surgeon is in order to monitor a postsurgical recovery.
