Understanding Surgical Practitioners -Medical Healthcare Insurance

Surgical Practitioners

A surgical practitioner is that health worker who is specialized in planning and delivery of a patient's preoperative care, including during the anesthetic , surgical and also recovery stages. They many include general and specialist surgeons , anesthesiologist , nurse anesthetists , surgical nurse , clinical officers , anesthetic technicians , surgical technologist and others.

Surgery  is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.
An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical procedure, operation, or simply surgery.  The patient or subject on which the surgery is performed can be a person or an animal. A surgeon is a person who practices surgery. Persons described as surgeons are commonly physicians, but the term is also applied to podiatrists, dentists (known as oral surgeons) and veterinarians. A surgery can last from minutes to hours, but is typically not an ongoing or periodic type of treatment. The term surgery can also refer to the place where surgery is performed, or simply the office of a physician, dentist, or veterinarian.

As a general rule, a procedure is considered surgical when it involves cutting of a patient's tissues or closure of a previously sustained wound. Other procedures that do not necessarily fall under this , such as angioplasty or endoscopy, may be considered surgery if they involve "common" surgical procedure or settings, such as use of a sterile environment, anesthesia, antiseptic conditions, typical surgical instruments, and suturing or stapling. All forms of surgery are considered invasive procedures; so-called "noninvasive surgery" usually refers to an excision that does not penetrate the structure being excised  or to a radiosurgical procedure .

Types of surgery

Surgical procedures are commonly categorized by urgency, type of procedure, body system involved, degree of invasiveness, and special instrumentation.

Based on timing: Elective surgery is done to correct a non-life-threatening condition, and is carried out at the patient's request, subject to the surgeon's and the surgical
facility's availability. Emergency surgery is surgery which must be done promptly to save life, limb, or functional capacity. A semi-elective surgery is one that must be done to avoid permanent disability or death, but can be postponed for a short time.

Based on purpose: Exploratory surgery is performed to aid or confirm a diagnosis. Therapeutic surgery treats a previously diagnosed condition.

By type of procedure: Amputation involves cutting off a body part, usually a limb or digit; castration is also an example. Re plantation involves reattaching a severed body part. Reconstructive surgery involves reconstruction of an injured, mutilated, or deformed part of the body. Cosmetic surgery is done to improve the appearance of an otherwise normal structure. Excision is the cutting out or removal of an organ, tissue, or other body part from the patient. Transplant surgery is the replacement of an organ or body part by insertion of another from different human (or animal) into the patient. Removing an organ or body part from a live human or animal for use in transplant is also a type of surgery.

By body part: When surgery is performed on one organ system or structure, it may be classed by the organ, organ system or tissue involved. Examples include cardiac surgery (performed on the heart), gastrointestinal surgery (performed within the digestive tract and its accessory organs), and orthopedic surgery (performed on bones and/or muscles).

By degree of invasiveness: Minimally invasive surgery involves smaller outer incision  to insert miniaturized instruments within a body cavity or structure, as in laproscopic surgery or angioplasty. By contrast, an open surgical procedure or laparotomy requires a large incision to access the area of interest.

By equipment used: Laser surgery involves use of a laser for cutting tissue instead of a scalpel or similar surgical instruments. Microsurgery involves the use of an operating microscope for the surgeon to see small structures. Robotic surgery makes use of a surgical robot, to control the instrumentation under the direction of the surgeon.