Dr. Wootan - What is General Surgery?
Richard C. Wootan, MD, FACS, is a well-versed general surgeon who diagnoses and treats patients at his private practice in Dallas, TX. His office consistently earns five stars for patient satisfaction from the consumer guide, Talk of the Town. Furthermore, Dr. Wootan has staff memberships at several local hospitals, including... more
General surgery is a branch of medicine that requires knowledge of and treatment for the preoperative, operative, and postoperative management of patients with a broad spectrum of diseases. Laparoscopic surgery refers to a minimally invasive surgical technique where surgeons perform surgery through several small incisions using a camera to view the procedure on a TV monitor. The incisions are significantly smaller than with traditional or open surgical techniques because of advances in surgical instruments and imaging devices.
The most common surgical procedures include laparoscopic hernia repair, gallbladder surgery, colon and rectal surgery, thyroid and parathyroid surgery, subcutaneous tumors, and breast surgery. General surgery procedures typically take one to two hours. A laparoscopic approach allows for the removal of organs without the discomfort and inconvenience that existed many years ago.
