General surgery

'General' surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland.

This is a relatively new specialty dealing with minimal access techniques using cameras and small instruments inserted through 3- to 15-mm incisions.

Bariatric surgery can be performed laparoscopically and there a benefits of doing so to reduce wound complications in obese patients.

General surgeons can specialise in Upper Gastro-intestinal (or foregut) surgery, which includes the surgical treatment of diseases of the stomach and oesophagus, liver, pancreas and gallbladder.

Responsible for all aspects of pre-operative, operative, and post-operative care of abdominal organ transplant patients.

Transplanted organs include liver, kidney, pancreas, and more rarely small bowel.

[3] In Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States general surgery is a five to seven year residency and follows completion of medical school, either MD, MBBS, MBChB, or DO degrees.

In Australia and New Zealand, a residency leads to eligibility for Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

In Canada, residency leads to eligibility for certification by and Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, while in the United States, completion of a residency in general surgery leads to eligibility for board certification by the American Board of Surgery or the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery which is also required upon completion of training for a general surgeon to have operating privileges at most hospitals in the United States.

During the two year core surgical training programme ("phase 1"), doctors are required to sit the Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) examination.

Before the end of HST, the examination for Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) must be taken in general surgery plus the subspeciality.

They may then apply to work both in the NHS and independent sector as a consultant surgeon, although many trainees complete further fellowships.