Surgeries

Cardiac ablation is a procedure to treat arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. It is used after medication has proved ineffective or caused serious side effects.

A shoulder dislocation is a serious injury that might require surgery. A patient will have to undergo weeks of physical therapy. However, after several months, most patients return to full health.

Regional anesthesia is used to render a specific portion of the body numb to any type of surgical stimuli or pain. While general anesthesia puts you in a state of deep sleep, during regional...

An adenoidectomy involves the removal of the adenoids. This surgery helps end frequent tonsil infections. It is most common in children, but adults sometimes undergo it as well. The operation is...

One of the main responsibilities of a surgical technologist is to hand surgical instruments to the surgeon. These instruments must be handled in a very specific way in order to ensure the safety...

Gallbladder surgery is a fairly routine procedure that is traditionally performed laparascopically. Surgeons make three or four small abdominal incisions, instead of a large opening, generally...

An abdominal binder is a large, stretchy fabric binder that is used to provide evenly distributed support and compression after an abdominal surgery. Abdominal binders are commonly used after...

Double mastectomy is a major operation done to prevent or treat the emergence of breast cancer. Often coupled with breast reconstruction, the recovery time can last several weeks.

Gallstones are masses that develop in the gallbladder. Surgery to remove the gallbladder may be necessary if a person has pain from gallstones. After gallbladder surgery, people need anywhere...

Most eye surgery is done on an outpatient basis, under local anesthesia. Medications are given for comfort, to make it easier for the physician to visualize the eye, and to prevent infection after...

Spinal fusion surgery can end years of pain and suffering by correcting and strengthening the spine, but it can also cause its share of problems after the operation. Some of these problems include...

Breast reconstruction is a common procedure done to rebuild the breasts after tissue has been removed. Recovery time is based on which type of reconstruction a patient has, but generally a patient...

Septoplasty is a surgical procedure designed to repair the effects of a deviated septum in the nose. Recovery from the procedure varies from person to person, and the full results of surgery might...

Generally safe and effective, trigger-finger surgery---as with any medical procedure---carries some risks, including the possibility of nerve damage.

Anytime a person's septum, or partition between the nostrils, is not straight, it is considered a deviated septum. Deviated septums can obstruct airflow in the nose. A person can be born with this...

Gallbladder surgery can be performed laparoscopically, via four small incisions over the abdomen, or through an open procedure where there is one larger incision. The laparoscopic technique is...

Spinal fusion may be done as a surgical intervention for back pain or deformity. The anterior approach is from the front and the posterior approach is from the back. In some cases, the...

Shoulder replacement surgery is a common procedure done when the bones and tissue of the shoulder have been damaged. The type of surgery performed for an individual patient--total or partial--is...

Anterior cervical fusion surgery is commonly performed along with an anterior cervical discectomy. This is a process of fusing one vertebra to another to eliminate motion. This may be needed to...

Interstitial cystitis is a condition that causes pain in the bladder and pelvic area. In some cases, bladder pain is caused by star-shaped ulcers in the bladder wall called Hunner's ulcers....

Shoulder replacement surgery is a major procedure requiring extensive recovery time. While the success rate is high, it may take months with regular therapy and exercise to regain full strength.

A lumbar fusion is performed to stop movement of one or more vertebrae in order to stop pain that occurs when the discs and joints are damaged in your back As with all major surgical procedures,...

Whipple surgery is a complicated procedure performed in patients with pancreatic cancer. The head of the pancreas, duodenum, gallbladder, end of the common bile duct, and sometimes part of the...

There are several forms of lumbar disc surgery, all of which aim to alleviate your pain by removing pressure from the spinal nerves. This may involve removing a portion of the affected lumbar disc...

Shoulder replacement surgery is a common procedure done to relieve pain in the shoulder joint. The type of surgery performed for an individual patient--total or partial--is chosen based on the...

The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped sac in the upper right portion of the abdomen. Its main purpose is to store bile from the liver. According to the Society of American Gastrointestinal and...

A fracture of the foot may require surgery to repair the bones and help them to heal properly. The amount of time that it takes to recover from foot surgery depends on the type and severity of the...

A vascular doctor specializes in the diagnosis, management and treatment of diseases of the arteries and veins. Vascular doctors treat these diseases with drug therapy and specialized surgical...

According to the Mayo Clinic, a shoulder separation occurs when the ligaments that attach to the junction of the collar bone (clavicle) and the top of the shoulder blade (scapula) become injured....

An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a potentially dangerous weakening of the abdominal aorta, which supplies blood to the lower half of the body. It is characterized by a bulging or expansion of the...

If you experience bladder leakage when you laugh, sneeze or try to exercise, you could have stress incontinence. Stress incontinence can be treated surgically. One surgical option is Burch bladder...

Bladder incontinence is more common in women than in men. If you are a woman with bladder control problems, your doctor can recommend treatment options, including surgical bladder sling...

Arthroscopic surgery for tennis elbow or other elbow problems is a common solution. It's considered a minor outpatient procedure that is 80 percent successful. Current surgical procedures are less...

During the first six months that follow a liver transplant, some patients experience organ rejection, a condition that occurs when your immune system identifies your new liver as a foreign invader...

Bilateral sympathectomy surgery, a quick but delicate procedure performed on the sympathetic nerves on both sides of the body, can put a stop to the excessive sweating of people with hyperhidrosis.

Post surgery infection is a common complication, occurring 500,000 times a year. Infections after surgery can lead to serious illness and even death. Recognizing the signs is an important part of...

A cervical spine, or neck fusion surgery involves removing the damaged disc, inserting a bone graft, and then fusing the vertebrae together with a plate. Neck fusion surgery recovery allows the...

Shoulder replacement surgery is a major procedure requiring extensive recovery time. While the success rate is high, it may take months, with regular therapy and exercise, to regain full strength.

Surgical means for promoting weight loss should only be used as a last resort, after diet and exercise have convincingly failed, and there are no other viable options. Although bariatric...

Heart valves regulate blood flow into and out of the heart by opening and closing repeatedly. Although surgeons prefer to first try and repair a defective heart valve, on some occasions, the need...

Shoulder replacement is necessary when function becomes impaired by floating bone or cartilage, loss of cartilage between the bones, bone spurs, or structural changes in the surface of the bone.

A total gastrectomy is a surgical procedure where all your stomach is removed to treat conditions such as stomach cancer, gastric ulcers, benign polyps, and other conditions. This procedure can...

Colon surgery can range from a minimally invasive procedure to open abdominal surgery. Reasons for colon surgery include large bowel obstruction, polyps, inflammatory bowel disease and colon...

According to MyPeriodontist.com, periodontal surgery is a term for the procedures that are utilized when the tissue surrounding the teeth is infected or otherwise unhealthy. This surgery is...

Scleral Buckle surgery is commonly used to treat retinal detachment, a condition that affects roughly 25,000 individuals in the U.S. each year, according to the Surgery Encyclopedia website. The...

A surgical procedure to remove your colon (also known as your large intestine) or a part of your large intestine is called a colectomy. There are several types of colectomy procedures including a...

Tubal ligation is a procedure performed on women who have decided not to have anymore children, or have a condition which pregnancy would make worse. It can be performed a number of ways, but...