The classification of surgical specialities varies considerably. The following
list
provides an overview of the nine specialities available as fellowships through
the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Many surgeons will specialise or sub-specialise
outside of these areas.
General surgery
A general surgeon is a specialist who is
trained to manage a broad spectrum of surgical conditions affecting almost any area
of the body. The surgeon establishes the diagnosis and provides the preoperative,
operative, and post-operative care to patients and is often responsible for the
comprehensive management of the trauma victim and the critically ill patient. The
surgeon acquires knowledge and technical skills in managing medical conditions that
relate to the head and neck, breast, skin, and soft tissues, abdominal wall, extremities,
and the gastrointestinal, vascular, and endocrine systems.
Sub-specialities within
general surgery are commonly divided into Upper Gastro-intestinal (Upper GI), Colorectal
and Breast & Endocrine. Within Upper GI further specialisation occurs, including
Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary (HPB) surgery.
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Cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic
surgery involves the operative management, perioperative care, and critical care
of patients with pathological conditions within the chest. Specifically, it includes
surgical care for coronary artery disease, cancers of the lung, esophagus, and chest
wall, abnormalities of the great vessels and heart valves, congenital anomalies,
tumours of the mediastinum, and diseases of the diaphragm. The management of the
airway and injuries to the chest are also areas of surgical practice for the cardiothoracic
surgeon.
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Neurological surgery
Neurological surgery is the discipline of medicine
and the specialty of surgery that deals with the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment
of disorders of the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including
their supporting structures and vascular supply. Neurological surgery involves the
evaluation and treatment of pathological processes that modify the function or activity
of the nervous system, including the pituitary gland.
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Otolaryngology head and neck surgery
These are surgeons who investigate and treat conditions of the ear, nose,
throat, and neck. These include the evaluation of hearing difficulties, sinus conditions,
voice problems, cancer of the throat, snoring and nasal and facial plastic surgery.
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Paediatric surgery
Paediatric surgeons are primarily concerned with the diagnosis,
preoperative, operative, and postoperative management of surgical problems in children
and they operate on children whose development ranges from the newborn stage through
the teenage years.
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Orthopaedic surgery
Orthopaedic surgery is a surgical specialty
that is specifically devoted to the care of the musculoskeletal system. This system
includes bones, joints, muscles, associated nerves, arteries, and the overlying
skin. Much of the orthopaedic surgeon's practice involves the performance of surgical
procedures, but many conditions are treated medically or physically through the
use of braces, casts, splints, or physical therapy.
Orthopaedic surgeons take care
of a wide variety of problems that may be present at birth, or that may develop
at any time during the lifetime of the person. Such problems can include congenital
deformities, trauma, infections, tumors, degenerative conditions, and metabolic
disturbances that fall into the category of musculoskeletal abnormalities. Orthopaedics
may also involve the treatment of secondary muscular problems in patients who suffer
from various central or peripheral nervous system lesions such as cerebral palsy,
paraplegia, or stroke.
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Plastic and reconstructive surgery
The specialty of plastic surgery
deals with the repair, replacement, and reconstruction of defects of the form and
function of the body covering and its underlying musculoskeletal system, with emphasis
on the craniofacial structures, the oropharynx, the upper and lower limbs, the breast,
and the external genitalia. This surgical specialty also focuses on the aesthetic
surgery of structures with undesirable form.
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Urology
A urologist is a physician
who manages benign and malignant medical and surgical disorders of the adrenal gland
and of the genitourinary system. Urologists have comprehensive knowledge of, and
skills in, endoscopic, percutaneous, and open surgery of congenital and acquired
conditions of the reproductive and urinary systems and their contiguous structures.
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Vascular surgery
Vascular surgeons care for patients with diseases that affect the
arteries and veins throughout the body. Narrowing and hardening of the arteries from cholesterol deposits
(atherosclerosis)
is the most common problem that vascular surgeons treat. Vascular
surgeons must be able to make early accurate diagnoses of patients at risk of arterial
problems such as strokes or gangrene, because the damage done by these conditions
is often irreversible. They may prevent these diseases by removing or bypassing
blockages in important arteries. Vascular surgeons must deal with many other problems
in arteries and veins, such as aneurysms and blood clots, and deal with their after effects.
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