General Surgery

GENERAL SURGERY

General surgery is a medical specialty that deals with the surgical treatment of many conditions, especially diseases of the abdominal area, anorectal region, thyroid, and breast.

Daviva Health Group’s General Surgery Department provides comprehensive healthcare services to its patients with experienced specialists, modern surgical technologies (robotic surgery, laparoscopic surgery, minimally invasive methods), and a multidisciplinary treatment approach.

What is general surgery? Which diseases does it treat? Get detailed information about laparoscopic, robotic, and minimally invasive surgical methods.

What Is General Surgery?

General surgery is one of the core medical specialties because of its broad scope. It refers to the surgical field concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the abdominal organs (intestines, colon, liver, stomach, esophagus, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts), breast, thyroid, and soft tissues.

A general surgery specialist plans and performs the treatment of surgical diseases involving many organ systems, especially digestive system diseases. The surgeon works as part of a multidisciplinary team by collaborating with the departments of gastroenterology, radiology, pathology, oncology, and nutrition and dietetics to determine a personalized and appropriate treatment plan for each patient. This approach aims to increase treatment success, especially in cancer surgery, obesity surgery, and complex abdominal operations.

Areas of Interest and Organ Transplant Surgery

This surgical branch also includes transplantation of internal organs such as the liver, kidneys, pancreas, and small intestine. Organ transplant surgery is performed in situations requiring internal organ surgery. These situations include acute injuries, tumors, and inflammation of the specified organs.

Diagnostic and Operative Endoscopic Procedures

Diagnostic and operative endoscopic examinations in the department (gastroscopy and colonoscopy) provide internal examination opportunities to evaluate the anatomy, function, and possible pathologies of the organs being examined. Endoscopic procedures can also be used to obtain small tissue samples for histological analysis and to perform minor surgical procedures such as polyp removal under limited anesthesia (operative endoscopy).

Diagnostic Process and Imaging Methods

In the diagnostic process, radiological scans such as X-ray, ultrasound, Computed Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging are utilized.

Surgical Methods Applied in General Surgery

Surgical procedures are performed depending on the case; open surgery or minimally invasive surgeries (laparoscopic surgery – robotic surgery).

What Diseases Does the General Surgery Department Treat?

General surgery is the department that deals with functional and oncological diseases affecting the digestive system, endocrine system, breast, and abdominal wall. The general surgery department plays an important role in the diagnosis, treatment, and surgical management of both benign and malignant diseases.

In addition to operations and surgical procedures, the surgical specialist also supports the prevention, diagnosis, follow-up, and rehabilitation of diseases. Especially with minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery and modern surgical methods, many diseases can be treated more comfortably.

The diseases related to the department are as follows;

• Gallbladder Diseases (gallstones, gallbladder inflammation)
• Hernias of the Abdomen, Stomach, and Groin
• Colorectal Diseases (diseases of the small and large intestines, rectum)
• Hemorrhoids
• Appendicitis
• Breast Diseases (breast cysts, breast tumors)
• Thyroid Diseases (goiter, thyroid nodule)
• Stomach and Esophageal Diseases (reflux, stomach polyps)
• Liver and Pancreatic Diseases
• Obesity (Bariatric Surgery)
• Cancer (colon cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer)

General surgery is one of the cornerstones of multidisciplinary treatment for oncological diseases such as stomach cancer, colorectal cancers, breast cancer, and thyroid cancer. Surgical treatment is planned together with other treatment methods such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy to provide a patient-specific approach.

What Are General Surgery Operations?

General surgery operations encompass the surgical treatment of pathologies such as digestive system diseases, endocrine glands, metabolic disorders, obesity, and anatomical defects like hernias, as well as emergency medicine and trauma. The general surgery doctor diagnoses diseases and applies them by planning surgical treatment or non-surgical treatment methods.

Modern surgical treatment methods applied in the general surgery clinic include open surgery, laparoscopic (closed) surgery, and robotic surgery techniques. Thanks to these methods, many diseases can be treated more safely, more comfortably, and with a faster recovery process.

Digestive System Surgery

Digestive system surgery covers diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. These operations are performed in the treatment of both benign and malignant (cancerous) diseases.

Breast Surgery

Breast surgery includes the removal of benign masses and malignant tumors (breast cancer) formed in the breast. If necessary, reconstructive surgery procedures may also be planned.

Oncological Surgery

Oncological surgery includes targeted surgical procedures performed to remove malignant tumor tissue or reduce tumor burden. It covers a wide range, from the removal of small lesions to major and complex tumor operations.

In oncological surgeries, while the tumor and surrounding tissues are removed, the aim is to preserve the functional capacity of the affected organs as much as possible.

Liver, Gallbladder and Pancreatic Surgery

Also known as hepatobiliary surgery, this field involves operations on the liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts. Procedures such as cholecystectomy (gallbladder surgery) and gallstone removal are frequently performed. In addition, many pancreatic diseases ranging from benign cysts to malignant tumors can be treated.

Colorectal Surgery and Proctology

Colorectal surgery covers the surgical treatment of colon and rectal diseases. Operations such as partial colectomy (removal of part of the colon), small bowel resection, repair of bowel obstructions, hemorrhoid surgery, colon resection for anal fissure, fistula, diverticulitis, and polyp removal are performed. Surgery for severe inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer also falls within this scope.

Endocrine Surgery

Endocrine surgery covers the surgical treatment of diseases of the thyroid, goiter, parathyroid glands, and adrenal glands. Thyroid surgery (thyroidectomy) can be performed partially or totally. Surgical methods are also applied for parathyroid adenomas and endocrine system tumors.

Obesity Surgery (Bariatric Surgery)

Obesity surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, refers to surgical methods used in the treatment of severe obesity and related metabolic diseases. This process requires a multidisciplinary evaluation involving a nutrition and diet specialist, psychologist/psychiatrist, endocrinologist, and other specialties depending on the patient’s clinical history.

Trauma Surgery

Trauma surgery covers the surgical management of acute and life-threatening injuries. Depending on the severity of the trauma, emergency surgical intervention may be applied for abdominal, chest, and limb injuries.

Skin and Soft Tissue Surgery

General surgeons can surgically remove suspicious skin lesions and soft tissue masses (such as lipomas and cysts). In cases with suspicion of a malignant tumor, wider resections may be performed.

Hernia Surgery

Hernia surgery covers the surgical repair of conditions such as inguinal hernia, umbilical hernia, hiatal hernia, femoral hernia, and incisional hernia. Today, general surgeons frequently use laparoscopic (closed) surgery and, in some cases, robotic surgery methods in hernia treatment.

What Are Minimally Invasive Surgical Methods?

Minimally invasive surgery refers to modern surgical methods performed through small openings instead of large incisions. With this method, the patient's postoperative pain is reduced, scarring is minimized, hospital stay is shortened, and the recovery process is accelerated.

Minimally invasive surgical techniques use special surgical instruments (endoscopes, laparoscopes, and robotic surgery systems) to view and treat internal organs and tissues more closely. In this way, damage to surrounding tissues is minimized and surgical safety is increased. Various surgical specialties use minimally invasive surgical techniques. In particular, they are widely preferred in the fields of general surgery, urology, gynecology, cardiovascular surgery, and oncological surgery.

Artificial intelligence-supported systems, virtual reality applications, and advanced imaging technologies offer new opportunities for minimally invasive surgery. Thanks to these innovations, increased surgical precision, expanded intervention capabilities, personalized surgical planning, and safer and more controlled surgical procedures become possible.

What Is Laparoscopic (Closed) Surgery?

Laparoscopic (closed) surgery is one of the minimally invasive surgical methods. A laparoscope is a modern, pen-thin instrument with a camera at one end. Thanks to this method, intra-abdominal organs are displayed on a screen with high-resolution and magnified images. Laparoscopic surgery is performed through several small incisions and makes it possible to obtain high-resolution, magnified images of the internal environment. This allows the surgeon to perform complex operations more precisely and in a more controlled manner, with the least tissue damage and discomfort. Compared with open surgery, the closed surgery method offers advantages such as smaller incisions, less pain, and a faster recovery process. The most common laparoscopic procedures include cholecystectomy (gallbladder surgery), laparoscopic hernia surgery, laparoscopic appendectomy, colon and rectal surgeries, stomach surgeries, sleeve gastrectomy (sleeve stomach surgery), and bariatric surgeries such as gastric bypass.

What Is Robotic Surgery?

Robotic surgery is a modern surgical method performed using an advanced surgical robot system controlled by the surgeon from a console. Robotic surgery aims to increase surgical success rates, especially in complex cases, thanks to the enhanced precision, improved dexterity, and superior visualization technology it offers.

The robotic surgery method is considered an advanced form of minimally invasive surgical techniques and provides detailed visualization of the surgical field through a high-resolution 3D imaging system. This technology allows the surgeon to perform interventions in a more controlled and precise manner. Robotic surgery is used in many medical specialties, especially in general surgery and oncological surgery, as well as urology (such as prostate surgery), gynecology (hysterectomy and other gynecological operations), and cardiac surgery.

What Are the Advantages of Closed Surgery?

Closed surgeries (minimally invasive surgery) are modern surgical methods performed with small incisions. Thanks to this technique, patients go through both the operation and recovery period more comfortably.

The most important advantage of closed surgery is that it causes less pain. Because of the small incisions, surrounding tissues and organs are damaged less, which increases postoperative comfort. At the same time, it provides important benefits such as less bleeding, lower risk of infection, and shorter hospital stay. The rapid recovery process helps patients return to their daily lives sooner. In addition, since the incisions made with this method are very small, the scars are almost invisible. This provides more successful results from a cosmetic standpoint.

Minimally invasive surgical methods are safely preferred today in many surgical specialties by offering both health and aesthetic advantages.