SUREGERY AND SPECIALTIES

SUREGERY AND SPECIALTIES

  Are you a science student interested in becoming a surgeon or are you just an inquisitive mind trying to understand and know more about surgery?. This post discusses about the meaning, scope and specialties of surgery.

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Definition of surgery:

  The branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of injuries, diseases, deformities and disorders by manual and instrumental operative techniques.

It is the branch of medicine that employ operative, manual and instrumental techniques on patients to investigate/diagnose and treat diseases and injuries or to help reform distorted or malformed body parts or improve functions/abilities or appearance of body parts.

It is also defined as technology of physical intervention on body tissues to address health anomalies.

  The word, ‘operate,’ means to perform a surgery. And a surgical procedure is the process or act of performing surgery. Surgical instruments are the tools and devices used to carry out surgical procedures. Procedures which involves cutting through tissues, use of sterile tools and environment, use of anesthesia, use of invasive tools, suturing or stapling are considered surgical procedures.

  A surgeon is a physician who had trained and specialized in the field of surgery and practices surgery.

A surgical team consists of surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical assistants, surgical nurse, surgical technologists. The American College of Surgeons, recognizes 14 surgical specialties. But number of surgical specialties may vary in other regions. Four major categories of surgeries are; extirpative, reconstructive, transplantation and wound treatment.

surgical tool

  

BRANCHES OF SURGERY

There are many branches or specialties of surgery. They include below;

General surgery:  Field of surgery which manages a wide spectrum of surgical procedures affecting many parts of the body especially areas of the head, neck, soft tissues, breast, abdomen, gastrointestinal, vascular and endocrine systems. The functions of the general surgeons are to carry out diagnoses and provide preoperative, operative and postoperative care and treatment to patients. 
  Residency in General surgery usually take about 5-7 years.

Pediatric surgery:  Field of surgery which treats and manages surgical concerns in infants/children and adolescents. Pediatric surgeons handle surgical treatment in children from newborn stage through the teenage years. They also have knowledge of the developmental stages in children.

They work alongside other physicians to determine appropriate treatment plans for their young patients. 5 years is first spent in general surgery with 2 years in pediatric surgery specialty. Some of the specialties include; pediatric oncology, prenatal, neonatal and pediatric traumatology.

Thoracic surgery: This specialty of surgery handles problems associated with chest and thoracic cavity. May usually be studied alongside heart/cardiac surgery, in which case it is called cardiothoracic surgery. It thus handles the pathological issues associated with the cardiothoracic region and underlying organs eg lungs, diaphragm, heart valves, esophagus, great vessels and related structures.

Neurosurgery: Field of surgery dealing with the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of conditions of the C.N.S, P.N.S and autonomic nervous system which also includes their supporting structures and supply.

  Neurosurgeons treat medical conditions impacting the brain, spinal cord and spinal column. Some problems handled are stroke, tumours, chronic pain, epilepsy, injuries etc.

Vascular surgery: Surgical specialty providing operative care for patients with diseases affecting the blood vessels, ie, veins and arteries.

 Some diseases treated include; aneurysms, strokes, blood clots

Colorectal surgery: Develops knowledge and skills critical for the diagnosis and invasive treatment of the pathological conditions of the intestinal tract, rectum and anal region of the body. Surgeons in this field also have the expertise to work on reproductive organs. Training usually lasts from 6-7 years after medical college.

Urology: Specialty devoted to handling cases in the urinary system. Surgeons in this field also use endoscopic and needle puncture procedures to perform diagnoses.

 An urologist generally carries out surgical procedures on the genitor-urinary tract, including the adrenal gland which influences the nature of urine production.

Orthopaedic surgery: A specialty of surgery dedicated to addressing issues of the musco-skeletal system which includes bones, joints, muscles, associated nerves, arteries and the overlying tissues.

Subspecialties: orthopedic Hand surgery, orthopedic sports medicine, pediatric orthopedics, orthopedic spine surgery, orthopedic oncology etc.

Bariatric surgery: A specialty of surgery dealing with procedures to help treat and manage obesity in patients. They carry out procedures which help obese patients control their food intake.

 3-7 years residency followed by 1 year fellowship is required in this field.

Podiatric surgery: Branch of surgery and podiatry handling diseases of the feet, ankle and related lower extremities. Podiatric surgery can be done under local or general anesthesia.

Podiatric surgeons treat such diseases like hammer toes, bunions, neuromas, etc.

Endocrine surgery: The field of surgery concerned with treatment involving the ductless glands (endocrine glands; thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal). They help by means of surgery to address hormonal problems in patients.

Trauma surgery: Surgical specialty that employ both operative and non-operative procedures to treat traumatic medical conditions. This area of surgery focuses on treating injuries as a result of blunt force or trauma.

  Trauma patients are patients who encountered blunt force ie, injuries arising from serious physical impacts like car accidents, stab, gunshot, height falling etc.

Nb: Trauma can be associated with any part of the body and ranges from minor to major.

Trauma surgeons usually work alongside other members of the medical team, including general surgeons.

Transplant surgery: A field of surgery devoted to organ transplants. This surgery entails a situation where a diseased organ in a patient is removed and replaced with an organ from a donor. Most common case is the kidney transplant.

 Other organs which can be transplanted are; liver, heart, lung, pancreas, small intestine, faces, penis and wind-pipe tissues. Transplant surgeons are expected to possess patience, eye-hand coordination and precision skills.

Obstetrics and gynecology: They address medical concerns of the female reproductive system and childbirth. An obstetrician and gynecologist is a physician that had been trained to provide medical and surgical care for pregnant women, child delivery and conditions affecting the female reproductive system.

  Gynecologic oncology, urogynecology, infectious diseases, reproductive endocrinology are some of the subspecialties.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery: Area of surgery handling a wide spectrum of diseases/disorders/deformities of the head, face, neck, jaws, and the oral cavity at large.

Conditions handled include; misaligned jaws, dental implant surgery, tumours of the jaw etc.

Ophthalmic surgery: Handled by an ophthalmologist, a physician specially trained to handle medical and surgical treatment of eye conditions.

They help diagnose and treat all eye and visual problems. Ophthalmic surgeons use surgical intervention to remove pressure in the eye, correct abnormal vision, remove cataract etc

Ortorhinolaryngology: Surgery performed on the ear, nose and throat. It is also called ENT surgery

Plastic surgery: The word ‘plastic’ means reshaping. This surgical specialty is usually studied and referred together as  “plastic and reconstructive surgery”. It is the surgical modification, reconstruction or restoration of human body features. Usually split into 2 main categories;

Reconstructive surgery

Cosmetic surgery

Reconstructive  surgery deal with the reconstruction of body parts and replacement of lost tissues. Cosmetic surgery help improve the appearance of such body parts.

Branches of plastic surgery: Aesthetic surgery, burn surgery, craniofacial, hand, pediatric plastic and microsurgery. Aesthetic surgery adopts cosmetic surgical principles and techniques to improve physical appearance.

Cosmetic surgery: This surgical specialty is focused on enhancing and improving body physical appearance or aesthetic appeal. It aims to achieve symmetry and right proportions for facial and body parts and usually classified as an elective. It can be performed by plastic surgeons as well as other medical/surgical specialists.

Procedures include; skin rejuvenation, body contouring, facial rejuvenation (eg facelift, brow and eye lid lift etc), breast enhancement, facial contouring etc.

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