Surgery

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Images
• Health Check Tools

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

There are many reasons to have surgery. Some operations can relieve or prevent pain. Others can reduce a symptom of a problem or improve some body function. Some surgeries are done to find a problem. For example, a surgeon may do a biopsy, which involves removing a piece of tissue to examine under a microscope. Some surgeries, like heart surgery, can save your life.

Some operations that once needed large incisions (cuts in the body) can now be done using much smaller cuts. This is called laparoscopic surgery. Surgeons insert a thin tube with a camera to see, and use small tools to do the surgery.

After surgery there can be a risk of complications, including infection, too much bleeding, reaction to anesthesia, or accidental injury. There is almost always some pain with surgery.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Start Here

• Guide to Surgical Specialists (American College of Surgeons)
• Preparing for Surgery (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
• Surgery (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Getting a Second Opinion Before Surgery (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - PDF
• Laparoscopic Surgery -- What Is It? (American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons) Also in Spanish
• Pulse Oximetry (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Speak Up: Help Avoid Mistakes in Your Surgery (Joint Commission) - PDF
• What Is a Ventilator? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Images

• Laparoscopic surgery - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Health Check Tools

• Question Builder: Be Prepared for Your Next Medical Appointment (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)

Statistics and Research

• Surgery of the Future App (National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Surgical Procedures, Operative (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Nursing Care Related with Surgical Position.
• Article: Development of the Emoji Faces Pain Scale and Its Validation on...
• Article: Major morbidity and mortality associated with delays to emergent surgery in...
• Surgery -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find a Surgeon (American College of Surgeons)
• Find an Interventional Radiologist (Society of Interventional Radiology)

Children

• Helping Kids Get Ready for Surgery (Nemours Foundation)
• Preventing Infections when Your Child Has Surgery (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Blood donation before surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Getting yourself healthy before surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Smoking and surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tests and visits before surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• The day of surgery for your child (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• The day of your surgery - adult (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish