Mercer, John C

Definitions

Breast surgery may involve any of a variety of surgical procedures carried out on the breasts of women (generally) and men. These procedures may include removing a sample of tissue from a breasttumour (abnormal growth), as well as removing malignant (cancerous) tumours. Surgery may also include breast reconstruction following a mastectomy (breast removal) for breast cancer. The surgeons who perform this type of breast reconstruction may be breast oncology (cancer) surgeons or plastic surgeons. (Surgeons trained in both specialities are known as oncoplastic surgeons.) Some breast surgeons also do cosmetic breast surgery, including enlargement and reduction.moreGeneral surgery takes its name from general medicine, and is a surgical specialty focusing on the torso and abdominal organs. This may include the intestines comprising the oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, pancreas, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts. It also often deals with diseases and disorders involving the skin and breasts.moreLaparoscopic surgery, also known as ‘keyhole surgery’, is carried out with the aid of a camera inserted into the abdomen or pelvis. A small incision is made in the abdominal wall through which alaparoscope, a flexible lighted tube with a camera attached, is inserted so that structures within the abdomen and pelvis can be examined. The abdominal cavity is made more visible by distending it with an absorbable gas, usually carbon dioxide. A number of major and minor surgeries may be carried out. A variety of tubes and long, narrow instruments can be inserted through the same incision in the skin, or via other small incisions, facilitating a number of procedures without the need for a large surgical incision. The surgeon uses these instruments to manipulate, cut and sew tissue. A number of procedures can be performed laparoscopically, including gallbladder removal (laparoscopic cholecystectomy), oesophageal surgery (laparoscopic fundoplication), colon surgery (laparoscopic colectomy), and surgery on the stomach and spleen. Most patients receive general anaesthetic during the procedure.moreVascular surgery treats diseases and disorders of the vascular system (the arteries and veins) with a variety of therapies, minimally invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction.Procedures to treat arteries and veins include angiography (performed to view blood vessels in many areas of the body), stenting (inserting a small tube to keep a blood vessel open), repair of an aneurysm (an abnormal widening or ballooning of part of a vein or artery due to weakness in the wall of the blood vessel); and treatment of obstructions in arteries, as well as other conditions.moreA hernia is a sac or pouch of tissue formed by the peritoneum, the lining of the abdominal cavity. The sac protrudes through a hole or weak area in the fascia, the strong layer of the abdominal wallthat surrounds the muscle. Hernias occur in different places: femoral hernia (upper thigh); hiatial hernia (upper part of stomach); incisional hernia (can occur through a scar if you have had abdominal surgery); inguinal hernia (groin); umbilical hernia (around the navel). Surgery under general anaesthetic is used to permanently fix a hernia. The weakened abdominal wall tissue (fascia) is secured and any holes are closed. An umbilical hernia that fails to heal on its own by the time a child is five years old may be repaired. Emergency surgery for hernias is sometimes needed. In addition to open surgery, some hernias can be repaired using a laparoscope (flexible lighted tube tipped with a camera), which is less invasive.more