Due to the increasingly specialist nature of all surgery, general surgery has been divided over recent years into a number of sub-specialties.
This has allowed individual surgeons to develop their skills in specialist areas such as breast surgery, bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery), colorectal surgery (coloproctology), endocrine surgery, hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery (liver and pancreas), upper GI surgery and vascular surgery.
Today, general surgery focuses mainly on the abdominal area. Such procedures would include appendectomy (removal of the appendix), hernia repair, removal of the gall bladder (cholecystectomy) and haemorrhoidectomy (removal of piles).
Many surgeons have developed skills in performing these laparoscopically (also known as key hole or minimally invasive surgery). The advantage to this for patients is the reduced recovery time, reduction in risk of infection and minimal scarring. The majority of general surgeons at Bupa Cromwell Hospital will offer minimally invasive surgery where appropriate.
Paediatric Surgeons are specialist surgeons who can operate on children, for further information please see our Paediatric Centre.
