Surgeons are revered throughout the world, and rightfully so. With over a decade of expensive education, they can cut people open, remove internal diseases, and stitch the body back.
Intelligent and focused even in the direst circumstances, surgeons can save lives in the operating room. For this, they gain the admiration and respect of their colleagues and millions more. But what do surgeons do?
What are the tasks of surgeons?
Surgeons conduct operations that involve making incisions on the body. They remove tumors, fix injuries, and take out causes of disease, if possible. Depending on their specializations, many surgeons focus on the digestive organs, endocrine glands, and tumors.
They use different surgical technologies to carry out operations. WebMD lists these instruments including traditional surgical tools (like scalpels and needles), digital probes, ionizing technologies, lasers, and radiation.
Surgeons take care of their patients from consultation until their post-operation recovery. They also talk to patients about their illness, the appropriate surgical treatment, the advantages and disadvantages of the operation, and other vital details. Surgeons train to perform urgent and critical surgeries during emergencies.
Like physicians and other medical practitioners, surgeons can conduct physical exams, assess test results, and assist patients in leading healthier lives. After all, surgeons master nutrition, immunology, anatomy, emergency care, pathology, and various specializations.
After each surgical operation, surgeons must monitor the patients’ recovery and wellness. Furthermore, surgeons are motivated to conduct research and reports regarding the operations they led. This way, they can contribute to the medical community and the advancement of surgery.
What is a surgeon’s typical workload?
Surgeons must always be on-call, ready to operate in times of emergency. They typically rush to the hospital or an accident scene late at night!
In general, surgeons must work at least sixty hours a week. During this time, surgeons perform check-ups, consultations, preparations, and studies.
They may conduct two to three surgeries a week depending on the operations’ complexity and the surgeon’s schedule.
Surgeons are the leaders in the operating room, and they handle the medical staff and their colleagues in such a high-stress environment. Surgeons are truly busy people!
What are the most common operations that surgeons do?
To become a surgeon, aspirants must finish a bachelor’s degree, create a competitive portfolio, pass a medical college admission examination, finish medical school, succeed in their residency, and study their specialization in surgery.
After spending over a decade and expensive bills, surgeons excel in the path that they took.
They perform different kinds of operations, treatments, and interventions based on the specializations that they studied.
Here are the most common operations surgeons do, according to the renowned John Hopkins Medicine:
- Appendectomy means removing the appendix through surgery. Appendicitis, the inflammation of the said organ, is one of the most common disorders. In the United States alone, one out of twenty persons will need an appendectomy at some point in their lives.
- A biopsy involves removing tissues of cells to be closely examined for cancer or tumors. Surgeons either use needles or incisions to remove these for diagnosis.
- Cataract surgery meansremoving the patients’ cloudy lens through laser technology or incisions. This eye disease is typical for people over the age of 60. Cataract surgeries have a 99% success rate.
- Cholecystectomy takes out the gallbladder when it endangers the patient with cancer, infections, and gallstones.
- Coronary artery bypass, also called bypass surgery, is a surgical operation for patients with chest pain and coronary artery disease. To remove the plaque blocking the arteries, surgeons attach a vein (usually taken from the leg or chest) beside the blocked arteries so that the blood flow will resume.
- Debridement is the operation where surgeons eliminate infected or dead tissues from burns or damage.
- Inguinal hernia repair involves the parts of the small intestine forced into the muscles in the groin. Surgeons who perform this bring the intestines to their proper position.
- Mastectomy removes parts of the breast (and even its entirety) in response to breast cancer. Surgeons also take out the auxiliary lymph glands under the arms in this operation. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer for Western women.
- Tonsillectomy involves removing the tonsils when it is severely infected. This surgery cures breathing difficulties for patients with inflamed tonsils.
What else do surgeons do in different settings and practices?
Given how broad the industry is, surgeons can fulfill their skills and education in different locations and environments.
The American College of Surgeons declared that this profession stands on leadership and responsibility. Surgeons must fulfill these values no matter what their workplace may be.
- In private practice, surgeons can focus on specific patients and families, building up a long-term bond with them. Surgeons in this setting perform operations when needed (given their training), but they have more freedom in handling their schedules and clients.
- Surgeons in institutional practice work full-time in hospitals and clinics. They perform intensive research as they handle cases. Surgeons here work intensively with other doctors and medical staff while obeying the institution’s policies and business regulations.
- Surgeons working in the academic medicine practice also teach surgery while taking care of patients and conducting research. They prepare the next generation of medical practitioners and surgeons while actively holding clinical investigations and experiments.
- They can also join the uniformed services setting. The surgeons working in the military handle operations based on what the branch requires. For example, in America, surgeons in the Air Force conduct surgery for injuries and disorders related to flight. Other than the surgeons’ usual tasks, those in the reserve uniformed services need to attend monthly drills, annual medical training activities, and services.
- Surgeons may also work for government service program settings. They may provide surgical operations in the state agencies’ charity programs. If they are qualified, surgeons here can work for the World Health Organization for humanitarian operations.
- Those in ambulatory surgery settings conduct quick yet delicate operations. Surgeons in this practice expect patients to arrive. They will be surgically treated and discharged on the same day. This setting is typical for cataract and breast biopsy patients.