General Surgery

Surgical Procedures

The general surgeons at Aurora BayCare Medical Center work with patients and their families to create personalized treatment plans. They offer a variety of surgical options including conventional inpatient surgery under general anesthesia, same day or outpatient surgery and a variety of minimally invasive surgery options, including:

  • Laparoscopic surgery

Laparoscopy is used in general surgery to examine the abdominal organs, including the gallbladder, bile ducts, the liver, the appendix, and the intestines.   Laparoscopic surgery is now preferred over open surgery for several types of procedures because of its minimally invasive nature and its association with fewer complications.

  • Microsurgery

Microsurgery is a general term for surgery requiring an operating microscope.

  • Endoscopic surgery

Endoscopic surgery uses a narrow tube going through small incisions or natural body openings in order to diagnose and treat disease. Another popular term is minimally invasive surgery (MIS), which emphasizes that diagnosis and treatments can be done with reduced body cavity invasion. The instrument may have a rigid or flexible tube and not only provide an image for visual inspection and photography but also enable taking biopsies and retrieval of foreign objects. Patients may receive conscious sedation so they do not have to be consciously aware of the discomfort.

  • Laser surgery

Laser surgery uses a laser light source to remove diseased tissues or treat bleeding blood vessels.

These minimally invasive procedures are safe, effective and oftentimes lead to faster recovery, less pain and less expense than traditional surgical techniques.

General surgery is frequently performed to alleviate suffering when a cure is unlikely through medication alone. Areas of the body treated by general surgery include the stomach, liver, intestines, appendix, breasts, thyroid gland, salivary glands, some arteries and veins, and the skin. The brain, heart, eyes, and feet, to name only a few, are areas that require specialized surgical repair.