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Gastrointestinal Surgery

Gastrointestinal Surgery
Gastrointestinal surgery includes a variety of surgical techniques to diagnose and treat GI disorders. Surgery can be done on both the upper and lower GI tracts, depending on the problem or disease. Gastrointestinal (GI) surgeries are performed to treat GI disorders including, gallbladder disease, colorectal cancer, tumors or inflammation, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and more. Your doctor may choose to perform the surgery as an open or minimally invasive procedure, depending on your health condition.
A minimally invasive or laparoscopic procedure allows your doctor to operate with smaller incisions and a tiny video camera. Benefits of this procedure include: Less blood loss and pain; Smaller scars; Lower risks of infection; Shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery time.
Some common types of minimally invasive GI procedures include:
Colon and Rectal Surgery – Treats disorders of the large intestine, including the rectum, colon, and anus.
Nephrectomy – Removes a diseased or cancerous kidney.
Adrenalectomy – Removes growths in the adrenal glands, which are found on the top of the kidneys and produce hormones required for proper body functioning.
Foregut Surgery – Treats conditions of the upper GI tract including, the stomach, upper portion of the small intestines, or esophagus (the tube connecting your mouth to your stomach).
Appendectomy – Removes an infected appendix, the small finger-like pouch at the end of the large intestine.
Splenectomy – Removes the spleen.
Hiatal Hernia Repair – Fixes paraesophageal hernias and Hiatal hernias. A hiatal hernia is an opening in the diaphragm (the muscle separating your chest from your abdomen) that shifts stomach or other abdominal organs into the chest, causing eating or breathing difficulty, heartburn, or chest or abdominal discomfort.
Bariatric Surgery – Makes the stomach smaller to help with weight loss.
Pancreatic Surgery – Can be used in treating various pancreatic conditions.
Cholecystectomy – Removes gallbladder to treat gallstones.
Nissen – Treats severe gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as gastric reflux, strengthening the muscle that contracts to keep stomach acid away from the esophagus. Chronic acid reflux patients often experience chest pain, a burning sensation in their throats, chests, mouth, sore throat, or difficulty swallowing.
Retroperitoneum Surgery – Treats testicular cancer.

Gastrointestinal Surgery

Surgical Gastroenterology (SGE) also called as Gastrointestinal surgery (GI Surgery) is highly evolved and specialized area of surgery that deals with surgical problems of the digestive system which includes organs like Esophagus, Stomach, Small intestine, Large intestine, Rectum, Anal canal, Liver, Pancreas, Gall bladder and Bile duct.
Gastrointestinal surgery includes a variety of surgical techniques to diagnose and treat GI disorders. Surgery can be done on both the upper and lower GI tracts, depending on the problem or disease.
The following are some examples of gastrointestinal surgeries that treat GI disorders and diseases:
Colon cancer surgery
Colon cancer surgery may involve the following:
Local excision: Removal of cancer in its early stage without cutting through the abdominal wall. A doctor may put a tube with a cutting tool through the rectum into the colon and cut the cancer out.
Colectomy/anastomosis: If the cancer is larger, a partial colectomy (removing the cancer and a small amount of healthy tissue around it) will be performed. The doctor may then perform an anastomosis, which involves sewing the healthy parts of the colon together.
Gallbladder cancer surgery
Gallbladder cancer surgery may involve one of the following procedures:
Cholecystectomy: Surgery to remove the gallbladder and some of the tissues around it. Nearby lymph nodes may be removed
Surgical biliary bypass: If the tumor is blocking the small intestine and bile is building up in the gallbladder, the gallbladder or bile duct will be cut and sewn to the small intestine to create a new pathway around the blocked area.
Endoscopic stent placement: If the tumor is blocking the bile duct, surgery may be done to put in a stent, a thin, flexible tube, to drain bile that has built up in the area.
Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage: A procedure done to drain bile when there is a blockage and endoscopic stent placement is not possible.
Esophageal cancer surgery
Esophageal cancer surgery may include the following:
Esophagectomy: Removal of part of the esophagus. The remaining healthy part of the esophagus is connected to the stomach so the patient can still swallow.
Liver disease surgery
Liver disease surgery can include the following procedures:
Partial hepatectomy: The removal of part of the liver where cancer is found.
Liver transplant: The entire liver is removed and replaced with a new liver from a healthy donor.
Ablation: A procedure that removes or destroys cancerous tissue. Ablation can be done surgically or non-surgically. It usually uses needles or instruments to reach the tumor through the skin and kill cancer cells.
Pancreatic cancer surgery
There are different types of pancreatic cancer surgery procedures. They may include the following:
Whipple procedure: A surgical procedure in which the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, part of the stomach, part of the small intestine, and the bile duct are removed. Enough of the pancreas is left to produce digestive juices and insulin.
Total pancreatectomy: This operation removes the whole pancreas, part of the stomach, part of the small intestine, the common bile duct, the gallbladder, the spleen, and nearby lymph nodes.
Distal pancreatectomy: The body and the tail of the pancreas and usually the spleen are removed.
Gastric bypass: If the tumor is blocking the flow of food from the stomach, the stomach may be sewn directly to the small intestine so the patient can continue to eat normally.