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Principles of surgery 

Principles of surgery
Chapter:
Principles of surgery
DOI:
10.1093/med/9780198799481.003.0002
Page of

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date: 29 June 2022

This chapter examines the principles of surgery. It begins by explaining the process of history taking and case presentation, and outlining the common surgical symptoms. The chapter then looks at the process of examination and investigation of the patient. It details the evaluation of breast disease, the neck, the abdomen, pelvic disease, peripheral vascular disease, and the skin and subcutaneous tissue disease. The chapter also considers preoperative care, pre-optimisation of the patient, perioperative care, and post-operative management. Finally, it discusses the management of the critically ill surgical patient. The first step is recognising compensated critical illness (e.g. shock compensated by tachycardia and peripheral shutdown or respiratory failure compensated by unsustainable respiratory effort). The surgical team should consider using critical care services for both elective and emergency surgical patients.

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