What is General Surgery?

A certification by the Board of Surgery. Practitioners manage a wide range of surgical conditions affecting almost any area of the body. Surgeons provide the diagnosis and the care to patients before, during, and after surgery. They are usually responsible for the comprehensive management of trauma victims and the critically ill. Surgeons have special knowledge and skills in birth defects, tumors, infections, and metabolic problems relating to the head and neck, breast, abdomen, extremities including the hand, and the gastrointestinal, vascular, and endocrine systems. General surgeons are expected to be familiar with the most relevant features of other surgical specialties in order to recognize problems in those areas and to know when to refer a patient to another specialist.