General Surgery

What is General Surgery?

General surgery is a branch of medicine that treats patients with general or regional diseases that cannot be treated with drugs or other medical methods, by surgical methods or by removing diseased organs from the body. The types of operations performed in general surgery are usually named after the organs where the disease is located or the system to which it is attached. general surgery; deals with goiter, breast, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, anus, hernias, liver, gall bladder, endoscopic and laparoscopic surgical interventions. General surgery works collaboratively with many other medical fields due to its wide coverage.

The majority of general surgery cases consist of various cancer patients. General surgery works with the fields of Gastroenterology, Radiology, Pathology, Medical and Radiation Oncology in the diagnosis, surgery and  treatment  processes of cancer patients. They work in cooperation with Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Urology, Cardiovascular Surgery and General Surgery in trauma patients due to multiple organ system injuries.

General surgery operations can be performed with open or closed (laparoscopic) method. Today, most of the surgical operations are  performed with the laparoscopic method  . The type and degree of the disease is taken into account when deciding which method to perform the surgical operation, and the patient’s opinion is taken. Laparoscopic method can be used in many surgical operations such as obesity treatment, gallbladder, inguinal hernia, appendicitis, reflux and gastric hernia.

What Does General Surgery Look For?

The organs or systems to be operated determine which department of General Surgery the patient will be treated. General surgery works in cooperation with many medical fields. There are departments  of general surgery  . The areas of interest of general surgery are:

• Gastrointestinal System:  Esophagus, Stomach, Small intestine, Large intestine, Gallbladder and bile ducts, Liver, Pancreas
• Abdominal Wall and Its Contents:  Hernias
• Breast, Skin and Soft Tissue
• Endocrine System:  Thyroid, Parathyroid, Adrenal Glands, Pancreas
• Surgical Intensive Care
• Surgical Oncology
• Trauma, Burn and Emergency Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Transplantation Surgery:  Liver, Kidney, Pancreas, Small Intestine

General Surgery Departments

According to the diseases to be treated, the general surgery departments are as follows:

• Trauma Surgery:  It is the general surgery department that consists of surgical methods that treat injuries or damages that require urgent intervention.
• Laparoscopic Surgery:  It is the department that performs the imaging and operation of organs by making small holes in the body with the laparoscopic technique of general surgery operations.
• Surgical Oncology:  It is the field that uses surgical methods for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, cancer stages. In surgical oncology, oral cancer, lung cancer, brain tumors, kidney cancer, skin cancer, endometrial cancer, laryngeal cancer, gliomas, large intestine cancer, bone tumors, colon and rectum cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, noninvasive cancers, esophageal cancer, Necessary surgical operations are performed for the treatment of prostate cancer, cervical cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, vulva cancer and ovarian cancer.
• War Surgery: It is the field that follows and operates the heavy damage caused by modern weapons and the complications that may occur in the body due to these damages. military surgery; abdominal injuries (hollow organ injuries, parenchymatous organ injuries, vascular injuries, abdominal wall injuries, perineal injuries), head and neck injuries (superficial injuries, bone injuries, brain and nerve injuries, vascular injuries, increased intracranial pressure syndrome), thorax injuries (thoracic wall injuries, lung and airway injuries, heart and pericardium injuries, vascular injuries), extremity injuries (soft tissue injuries, vascular injuries, bone injuries), pelvis injuries, anesthesia applications, intensive care applications, burns and frostbite. carry out operations in the field.
• Thyroid Surgery:  It is the surgical department that treats cancer or other diseases of the thyroid gland. In thyroid surgery operations, half of the thyroid gland is removed, some thyroid tissue is left in both lobes, less than one gram of thyroid tissue is left on one side, or the thyroid glands are completely removed.
• Breast Surgery:  It is the surgical department where breast cancer surgeries are performed. Increasing breast cancer cases in recent years has increased the importance of this surgical department. In breast surgery operations, all or part of the breast is removed. Apart from this, the investigation of whether cancer is transmitted to the axillary lymph nodes due to breast cancer and the removal of the armpit lymph nodes is also an area of ​​interest for breast surgery.
• Hepatobiliary Surgery:  It is the department that deals with the surgical treatments applied in diseases seen in the liver, gall bladder, bile ducts and pancreas. hepatobiliary surgery; performs the treatments of pancreatic, gallbladder and biliary tract cancers, liver cancer and soft tissue cancers.
• Gastroenterology Surgery:  Diseases in the digestive system are cured in this section. Esophageal diseases (esophageal cancer, reflux, hiatal hernia, achalasia), stomach and duodenum diseases (cancer, morbid obesity, metabolic surgery, all kinds of tumors), small and large intestine diseases (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, cancers), anus and anal canal diseases (fissure, fistula, hemorrhoids, incontinence, prolapse, abscess), liver, pancreas, gallbladder and biliary tract diseases (liver cancer, hydatid cyst, portal hypertension, gallstone, cholecystitis, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic pseudocyst) and all kinds of cysts) are treated.
• Colorectal Surgery:  It is the department that cures diseases of the large intestine, rectum and breech region by surgical methods. Intestinal diseases in colorectal surgery, intestinal knotting, intestinal cancer, rectal cancer, intestinal tuberculosis, diverticular disease of the intestine, intestinal incontinence, flatulence and stool incontinence, intestinal lymphoma, intestinal adhesion, carcinoid tumor, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic constipation, colon polyps and diseases such as mesenteric tumors are treated.
• Intensive Care Surgery: It  is the surgical department where patients in critical situations and patients who require surgical intervention are treated in units. Patients treated in intensive care surgery are under constant observation and intensive treatment is applied to these patients.
• Vascular Surgery:  It is the surgical department that deals with the surgeries of blood vessels. It usually covers surgical operations performed to prevent heart attacks and strokes. In some cases, diseases related to circulatory problems are also covered in this section. Vascular surgery can also treat varicose veins and aneurysms. These operations are now performed under the branch of cardiovascular surgery.

What Analyzes Can General Surgery Perform?

general surgery; can apply various tests to the patient for the diagnosis, diagnosis and treatment of diseases originating from goiter, breast, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, anus, hernia, liver, gallbladder. In line with the patient’s complaints, it can perform tests and tests such as biochemical tests, thyroid tests, cancer screenings, diabetes scans, cardiovascular scans, whole abdominal scan and gastrointestinal system examinations in order to diagnose the disease correctly and to create the right treatment method. However, since general surgery works in cooperation with other medical departments, such examinations are often included in the patient’s reports. Analyzes that are important for surgical procedures in general surgery  and which are missing in the reports are done in this section.

Diseases Treated by General Surgery

Diseases treated by general surgery include:

• Obesity,
• gastric balloon,
• Gastric sleeve surgery,
• thyroid diseases,
• Appendicitis,
• Pain, swelling, stiffness or soreness in the breast,
• Pain or swelling in the abdomen,
• Hemorrhoids,
• ingrown hair,
• Small and large intestine problems
• liver problems,
• stomach diseases,
• Skin problems (meat and sebaceous glands)
• Blood in large stools
• abdominal pains,
• Recurrent diarrhea or constipation
• Pain under the right rib, feeling of pressure and pain extending to the right shoulder blade, feeling of tension in the right shoulder region,
• Pain and swelling in and around the belly button,
• Groin pain and swelling in the groin,
• emergency cases,
• Injuries and traumas in the accident,
• Pain and discomfort in the gallbladder,
• pancreas problems,
• cysts,
• Moles that occur on the skin surface and are intended to be removed,
• Fistula,
• spleen diseases,
• Circumcision,
• Organ transplant,
• removal of calluses