GENERAL SURGEON

A general surgeon is a physician who, after completing medical school, has completed an accredited residency program in the specialty of general surgery, which usually lasts five to seven years. One good sign of a surgeon’s competence is certification by a national surgical board approved by the American Board of Medical Specialists. For general surgery, that board is the American Board of General Surgery.

The specialty of general surgery encompasses a wide area, ranging from vascular surgery to cancer surgery. Anatomically, the realm of the general surgeon involves, broadly speaking, the abdominal cavity including the organs contained within, the breast, the neck, and the extremities, Surgeries range from removal of organs such as the gallbladder, the colon, the breast, and the thyroid, to repair of hernias, treatment of varicose veins and “lumps and bumps” of the skin.

The relatively new field of minimally invasive surgery or laparoscopic surgery has allowed performance of traditional operations through smaller incisions, decreasing the pain and recovery time of surgery in many instances.