The 10 most important types of surgery (and their characteristics)

Human beings, unfortunately, face multiple inclemencies, whether extrinsic or intrinsic to the individual: a stomach ulcer, a bad fall or perhaps a simple cosmetic flaw can be reasons to go under the knife, at least once in our lives.

Many people associate surgeries with a life or death situation, but nothing could be further from the truth. For example, in Spain an average of 400,000 surgeries are performed per year whose sole purpose is an aesthetic modification. This industry, increasingly on the rise, moves more than 9,000 million euros globally a year, with female augmentation mammoplasty as the flagship intervention.

For this reason, in various European areas a 30% increase in visits to the operating room has been observed in the general population, many of them for cosmetic purposes. Do you know what are the 10 most important types of surgery in modern society? What are their characteristics? In the following lines we give you an answer to these questions and many more.

• We recommend you read: "The 17 most common aesthetic retouching in Spain"

What is a surgery?

Surgery is the practice that involves the mechanical manipulation of the anatomical structures of living beings for medical purposes, either diagnostic, therapeutic, prognostic or aesthetic. Due to the increase in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, cancers and injuries, public spending on this type of intervention has increased in recent years at the global level. The World Health Organization (WHO) throws us some interesting facts:

• In the world, 234 million major surgical operations (with operating room and anesthesia) are performed per year.
• This means that one in 25 people undergo surgery annually.
• 75% of surgeries occur in 30% of the world's population, that is, in high-income countries.

As we can see, this is a very important intervention that takes many forms and characteristics. Unfortunately, like almost everything in life, a correct sanitary infrastructure is reserved for the wealthiest regions.

The most important and frequent surgical operations

Once we have explained what a surgery is and how these types of procedures are distributed at the global, we are ready to get down to the scalpel and dissect the top 10 types of surgery important. We do not delay any longer, because today there is a lot of fabric to cut and sew.

1. Appendectomy

Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of emergency abdominal surgery, as there are 11 cases per 100,000 inhabitants at any given moment. Appendectomy seeks to surgically remove the appendix, a small finger-shaped organ that extends from the first part of the large intestine and that, in this pathology, is found inflamed. The extraction is done by making a cut in the lower right side of the abdominal area.

2. Breast biopsy

We are facing a surgery of a diagnostic nature, as it is based on obtain a sample of breast tissue so that it can be viewed under a microscope. This technique, carried out with a special needle (puncture biopsy) or by removing a lump (lumpectomy), makes it possible to diagnose breast cancer.

This type of diagnostic surgery is very common since, unfortunately, in the United States alone there are almost 270,000 cases of invasive breast cancer annually and about 42,000 deaths. The data speaks for itself: in the event of any doubt or breast abnormality, a visit to the doctor can save lives.

3. Cataract surgery

36% of the world's population suffers from cataracts from the age of 50, a percentage that increases to 71% in the elderly. Therefore, it is not surprising that cataract surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures in society.

In this ocular surgical procedure, the natural lens of the eye (which has developed opacity over time) is removed and replaced with a lens in its place. As expected, cataract surgery seeks to improve the individual's visual ability.

4. Caesarean section

Cesarean section is very common, because depending on the area, up to 26% of mothers go through this process when giving birth. The World Health Organization (WHO) places the ideal cesarean section rate between 10-15%, although this practice is increasingly common.

In this case, the surgery is performed by making an incision in the mother's abdomen and uterus, in order to safely remove the baby. Cesarean section is performed when it is considered that it will be safer than natural delivery for both the woman and the child.

5. Cholecystectomy

We are facing another surgery that is based on the extraction of a structure, but in this case, instead of the appendix, the patient's gallbladder is removed. This is the way to go when the gallbladder is inflamed, infected, has developed cancer, or is predisposed to developing troublesome gallstones.

6. Stomach ulcer surgery

In certain populations, gastric and gastric ulcers reach a prevalence of almost 84 patients per 1,000 inhabitants (with a clear bias towards the masculine gender), a figure by no means negligible.

This type of surgery aims to close the perforation produced in the affected section so that it stops bleeding, although they are usually take other avenues before undergoing surgery, such as reducing stomach acid levels or destroying bacteria H. pylori. Surgery is one of the last options that arise in this clinical picture, but it is still important to take it into account.

7. Surgery for gastrointestinal perforation

Another of the most important emergency surgeries in the operating room. In this case, a hole develops that develops along the esophagus, stomach, small or large intestine, or rectum. Unlike the ulcer, in these cases almost always surgery is required to close the hole.

In addition to the closure procedure itself, surgery for intestinal perforation may require the removal of a small part of the intestine (colostomy) or an abdominal drain.

8. Coronary artery bypass

This surgical procedure is performed on people with coronary artery disease. In this case, it is not a question of extracting but of replacing, since a graft is made above and below a blocked portion of the blood vessel, so that blood can flow more easily through this "accessory path". In general, the veins in the patient's leg are usually used to obtain the graft that will be the fundamental piece of the bypass.

9. Augmentation mammoplasty

Who said that all surgeries respond to a medical reason? As we have said previously, interventions for aesthetic purposes are on the rise, and augmentation mammoplasty is the clearest example of this. 55% of women operated on are between 19 and 34 years old and, in countries like the United States, more than 122,000 procedures are performed annually related to the aesthetics of the breasts in the female gender.

In this case, the process seeks to introduce silicone implants in the breasts to increase their size, either subglandularly (under the mammary glands) or submuscularly (under the muscle). There are multiple ways to approach this type of intervention.

• To know more: "Breast augmentation: procedure, risks, price and everything you need to know"

10. Hemorrhoidectomy

Hemorrhoids are present between 30 and 50% of the adult population and, depending on their severity, they can be a real nuisance. Hemorrhoidectomy seeks to surgically remove hemorrhoids, which are dilated veins in the rectum or anus that bleed and itch with the passage of stool.

Resume

We have presented you with 10 of the most important or common types of surgery in the general population but, of course, they are not the only ones. The scalpel is the order of the day, as there are more and more ways to save patients from a serious illness or, by default, make cosmetic adjustments to improve quality of life individual.

Bibliographic references

• Breast Biopsy, medlineplus.gov. Picked up on November 10 in https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/pruebas-de-laboratorio/biopsia-de-seno/#:~:text=Una%20biopsia%20de%20seno%20es, special% 20for% 20extract% 20the% 20weave.
• Breast cancer, statistics, cancer.net. Picked up on November 10 in https://www.cancer.net/es/tipos-de-c%C3%A1ncer/c%C3%A1ncer-de-mama/estad%C3%ADsticas
• Data on specific surgeries, statista.com. Picked up on November 10 in https://es.statista.com/buscar/?q=cirugia&Buscar=&qKat=search&language=0&p=2
• Safe Surgery Saves Lives, World Health Organization (WHO). Picked up on November 10 in https://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/sssl_brochure_spanish.pdf
• Common Surgical Procedures, carefirst.com. Picked up on November 10 in https://carefirst.staywellsolutionsonline.com/spanish/DiseasesConditions/Adult/Surgical/85,P04492
• Cesarean section rates by hospital and other available data, elpartoesnuestro.es. Picked up on November 10 in https://www.elpartoesnuestro.es/informacion/el-parto-en-cifras
• Peptic Ulcer, medlineplus.gov. Picked up on November 10 in https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ency/article/000206.htm