Surgical treatment as a minor or major direct physical intervention

Operative surgery involves incision and the inspection and removal of diseased tissues or organs and/or replacement or redirection of body channels and/or implantation of electronic or mechanical devices.

Surgery includes a range of techniques in which body tissues are cut in order to:

• Remove unhealthy tissue
• Modify or rebuild damaged or diseased body structures
• Bypass malfunctioning organs
• Impant electonic or mrchanical devices to improve body function.

Surgical techniquies rely on the fact that most healthy body tissues regenerate after damage. Once surgery is finished, the body's self-healing processes take over.

A surgical procedure is called an operation. Operative surgery can be classified in several ways.

Involves procedures that require the opening of the chest, abdomen or cranium (brain). This part of the procedure itself causes significant injury to a patient, which might take several weeks to heal completely. Organs such as the heart and brain are extrenely delicate and a surgical procedure miht take several hours. 

Blood loss is a problem in operations; it is sometimes necessary for the patient to have a transfusion of blood during the procedure.

Usually requires a general anaesthetic, putting patients to sleep, immobilising them and preventing them from any feelings of pain. However, operations on the brain are usually performed with a local anaesthetic, because it is useful for the patient to be alert. The brain has no pain sensors.

Patients are admitted to hospital a day or two before major surgery and may have to stay a week following the operation.

Whenever incisions are made and body cavities openes, there is a risk of infection. For this reason, operations are carried out in operating theatres in which aseptic conditions are managed.

Involves taking organs from a donor (usually a healthy person who has passed away recently) and using them to replace diseased organs in a patient.

Organs and tissues that can be successfullt transplanted include the heart, lungs, liver, kidney, bone marrow and cornea.

A patient's immune system may attack the new organ; this is called rejection.

Tissues are likely to match if the donor and recipient are closely related. This is why some people donate one of the kidneys to a relative suffering from kidney failure.

The risk of rejection can also be reduced by giving the patient corticosteriod and immunosuppressant drugs.

Has to be performed without delay in order to save a patient's life or to avoid a serious worsening of the patient's condition. 

When emergencies arise, it is sometimes necessary to cancel previously arranged elective surgeries.

Elective surgery is recommended to, and agreed by, a patient, but which is not an emergency.

Typically, a patient waiting for elective urgery is put on a waiting list. Waiting lists are prioritised accoring to the severity of the condition.

Involves procedures that are less damaging to body tissues, are shorter and from which the recovery time is much less.

A general anaesthetic might not be necessary, in which case a local anaesthetic is used.

Minor surgery can sometimes be performed during an outpatiet visit.

Is a technique used to observe relativel inaccessable parts of the body. It can also be used to collect biopsies. It's also used to carry out surgical operations.

Miniature surgical instruments can be placed into the patient's body via s amall incision. The surgeon views the operation site using the image produced by the endoscope. 

This technique can be used to perform operations such as appendectomy, female sterilisation and repair of torn ligaments in joints.

A laser produces a beam of light that is intense enough to cut through tissues. The beam can be focused on a very small spot, enabling great precision to be used. 

Lasers can be used to remove skin blemishes, to correct soem visual defects by removing tissues from the cornea and also to carry out surgery on the retina of the eye.

Uses a range of specialised equipment to perform operations on very small stuctures in the body.

This equipment includes a binocular microscope, through which the surgeon views the operation site, and small surgical instruments such as minature scalpels and sututring needles.