What types of surgery are there?

• Surgery is a branch of medicine that deals with interventions on the patient's body to improve its function or appearance. .
• We can make many classifications of surgical interventions depending on the criteria by which we choose to classify.
• Technological advances have made it easier to carry out surgical interventions in a much less invasive way.

Depending on the problems to be solved and the organs affected:

• Orthopaedic or trauma surgery: deals with muscles and bones, and is often performed for trauma or broken bones.
• Neurosurgery: deals with interventions affecting the nervous system.
• Thoracic surgery: deals with operations on the elements inside the thoracic cavity, mainly the heart, lungs and oesophagus.
• Maxillofacial surgery: this is responsible for surgical interventions on the face and mouth.
• Plastic surgery: these are surgical interventions performed on areas of the external part of the body.

It depends on the technique and materials used to carry out the surgical intervention:

• Major Outpatient Surgery (MOS): These are surgical interventions of moderate complexity that do not require the patient to be admitted to hospital, either before or after the surgery. An example of this is the phimosis operation.
• Invasive surgery: this is traditional surgery, in which large incisions are made and the surgeon has direct access to the area to be treated. It is also known as open surgery. As a general rule, the patient must stay in hospital for several days and recovery is long.
• Laparoscopic surgery: to perform laparoscopic surgery, several small incisions are made. A small camera is inserted through these incisions, through which the surgeon can observe the inside of the patient in order to be able to operate, as well as the tools necessary for the surgery. This is a minimally invasive procedure. An example of this is laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery.
• Transplants: this involves the removal and placement of organs or other tissues from the body. These are usually highly complex and time-consuming operations.
• Laser surgery: for this technique, an intense beam of light is applied to the cells to be removed, the temperature of the cells increases and they disappear. An example is thulium laser surgery for the prostate.

Based on a likely level of bacterial contamination that may occur during surgery, a classification was made by the National Research Council in 1964:

• Clean wounds: when the procedure does not access the interior of a normally colonised organ or other body cavity.
• Clean-contaminated wounds: when the procedure accesses a normally colonised organ or other body cavity under controlled circumstances.
• Contaminated wounds: when the procedure involves contamination of the surgical site without apparent infection.
• Dirty wounds: when the surgical procedure is performed in an area where there is an infection.

When it is decided that surgery is needed, this classification is based on how long we can wait to perform it:

• Extreme urgency: immediate intervention is necessary, as the patient's life or organ function is at stake.
• Urgent: intervention must be carried out as soon as possible, within a maximum of 24 to 48 hours, as the situation may put the patient's life or organ function at risk.
• Planned: these are surgical interventions that are programmed, as the solution to the problem is not urgent, but it must be solved to avoid greater risks in the future.
• Diagnostic: surgery is necessary to determine the origin and behaviour of the cells causing the problem.
• Elective: the patient can decide whether or not to undergo surgery, and not undergoing surgery does not have serious consequences. An example of this is vasectomy.

Depending on what we intend to achieve with the surgical intervention, we can make the following classification:

• Curative surgery: aims to solve the problem, usually by removing the affected area.
• Reparative surgery: its purpose is to repair damaged or weakened areas and to correct deformities and deviations.
• Palliative surgery: this is carried out to reduce the symptoms of a problem or illness, but does not put an end to it.
• Cosmetic surgery: these are surgical interventions that are carried out to improve the patient's appearance, but do not have a medical or functional basis.

Depending on the organs or body systems to be operated on, we can also make another classification:

• Dental and maxillo-facial surgery: related to the teeth, jaw and face.
• Otorhinolaryngological surgery: related to the ears and nose.
• Ophthalmological surgery: surgery related to the eyes.
• General surgery: surgery dealing with the endocrine and digestive systems.
• Oncological surgery: related to tumours and the removal of areas.
• Neurosurgery: related to the central nervous system. 
• Gynaecological surgery: related to the female reproductive system.
• Urological surgery: related to the male reproductive system.
• Dermatological surgery: surgery related to the skin.
• Traumatological surgery: related to muscles and bones.

• External surgery: this is performed on the skin and underlying tissues and does not require access to the inside of the body.
• Internal surgery: this is surgery that requires penetration into the body.

• Minor surgery is surgery that is not life-threatening for the patient. It is usually simple and can be performed either in a hospital or in a health centre. It is usually performed under local anaesthesia and the recovery time after surgery is short. Because of its low complication rate, minor surgery does not usually require hospitalisation, so the patient goes home the same day of surgery.
• Major surgery: this is the most serious type of surgery, as it involves a risk to the patient's life. It is usually performed under general anaesthesia, requiring hospitalisation and a longer recovery time. It is a surgery that is very prone to complications.