Who is a surgeon?
A surgeon is a trained physician who can perform surgeries. These physicians specialize in evaluating and treating conditions requiring surgeries and physically changing the human body. This profession demands exceptional manual proficiency and fine motor skills to carry out complex procedures needed to investigate diseases, remove or repair damaged tissues, and improve the function or appearance of an organ or body part.
It takes around 13 years to become a general surgeon. In an operating room, surgeons lead a team of doctors and nurses to ensure that a medical procedure goes smoothly. Medical surgery can be of two types—open surgery and minimally invasive surgery.
Open surgery requires an incision into the skin and tissues so the surgeon can see into the body and thoroughly view the structures and organs involved in the procedure. Minimally invasive surgery, on the other hand, does not require large incisions but smaller entry points to make repairs or take tissue samples. Recovery periods of minimally invasive surgeries are less than open surgeries, but not all surgeries have this option.
What kind of education and training do surgeons receive?
Surgeons undergo a comprehensive educational and training path to achieve the required expertise in their field. Here's an overview of the education and training that surgeons receive:
- Undergraduate education: Aspiring surgeons start their journey by completing a bachelor's degree in pre-medical or other science-related subjects. It gives them a solid foundation in biology, chemistry, and physics, among other relevant topics.
- Medical school: After undergraduate studies, students enter medical college or school, where they embark on a rigorous four-year program. During the initial two years, they primarily focus on acquiring medical knowledge and theory, covering anatomy, pharmacology, and pathology. The subsequent two years emphasize practical training and clinical experience, often involving rotations in various medical specialties.
- Degree attainment: Upon completing medical school, students earn either a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) or a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree. These degrees are essential prerequisites for becoming a licensed physician.
- Residency training: Surgeons-in-training then pursue a residency in surgery. A program typically spans at least five years, depending on the surgical specialty. During this period, they work under the guidance of experienced surgeons, honing their surgical skills and knowledge in their specific areas of interest.
- Internship: After completing their surgical residency, aspiring surgeons undertake a multi-year internship in the surgery department of a hospital. The duration of this internship can vary, contingent on the chosen surgical subspecialty. This phase provides further hands-on experience and expertise development.
- State licensing: Before commencing independent practice, surgeons must successfully navigate a rigorous state-level licensing process. This process ensures they meet the required standards and possess the skills and knowledge to provide safe and effective medical care.
- Board certification: To further validate their expertise, surgeons can pursue board certification in their specialties. Various medical boards, such as the American Board of Surgery (ABS), offer certificates in vascular surgery, general surgery, pediatric surgery, and critical surgical care. Achieving board certification involves passing comprehensive examinations and fulfilling specific requirements set by the relevant board.
What are different surgical specialties?
There are different surgeons for each part of your body, and they utilize various techniques. Below are some common surgical specialties with their scope of work:
- General surgery: A general surgeon operates on different conditions affecting multiple body areas.
- Cardiothoracic surgery: A cardiothoracic surgeon works on illnesses of the lungs, heart, esophagus, and chest. The procedures performed by these surgeons tend to be major and often complex.
- Otolaryngology (ENT): These surgeons specialize in all aspects of the skull base, head and neck region, and facial plastic surgery.
- Neurosurgery: The surgeons specializing in this field are called neurosurgeons. It includes all aspects of brain surgery, from pre-operative imaging to the removal of tumors.
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery: Surgeons specializing in this field work on the face, facial bones, and neck. The procedures can range from minor surgeries to complex and major surgeries such as head and neck surgery.
- Plastic surgery: Plastic surgeons work on cosmetic surgeries and handle the replacement, repair, and reconstruction of the body.
- Pediatric surgery: Pediatric surgeons work on treating trauma, disease, and malformations of childhood years ranging from the fetal period to the teenage years.
- Urology: A urologist deals with the urological system, which includes the bladder, kidney, and urinary problems and male sexual and reproductive health.
- Trauma and orthopedic surgery: These surgeons address musculoskeletal system problems, encompassing bones, joints, and related tissues, including ligaments, muscles, and nerves.
- Vascular surgery: Vascular surgeons work on arteries and veins. They diagnose and treat vascular system conditions. Vascular surgery was previously a subspecialty of general surgery.
- Academic surgery: Academic surgeons are involved in clinical work and some research or teaching in higher education settings. They are committed to both the clinical aspects of the research and the job.
What are some reasons to see a surgeon?
Surgeries can be elective or emergent. Elective surgeries are scheduled in advance and don't require immediate attention, although they are not always optional. On the other hand, emergent surgeries are for urgent and life-threatening conditions, such as serious injuries, life-threatening diseases, etc.
Surgery can help to:
- Get a tissue sample from a suspected area
- Take out an obstruction
- Learn about a condition to get an accurate diagnosis
- Redirect blood vessels
- Move body parts back to their position
- Remove or repair damaged tissue or organ
- Change your appearance
- Put electronic or mechanical devices inside the body
How do you find top surgeons in Silver Spring, Maryland?
Are you trying to book an appointment with a surgeon? Do you want to schedule a visit with the best plastic surgeon who is in-network with your insurance plan? If yes, look no further. With Zocdoc, you can find the best surgeons in Silver Spring, Maryland, and book your appointment in minutes.
Just create a free account on the Zocdoc website and start your search by entering basic details such as symptom or specialty, insurance type, appointment date, and location. A comprehensive list of in-network providers based on your search criteria will appear. If you are still determining your insurance plan, use Zocdoc's detector. Each surgeon listed on Zocdoc has a profile. This profile includes their short bios, education details, visit reasons, practice locations, and, most importantly, patient reviews and user ratings.
You can refine the search results according to visit type, in-person or video consultation, gender of the provider, language, and whether they see children or not. Zocdoc allows you to book video consultations before you make an in-person visit to make you know your provider better.
With Zocdoc, you can book appointments with surgeons near you who accept your insurance plan in real-time. Bookings of all appointments made through Zocdoc are easy, secure, and 100% free!
Stats on surgeons and plastic surgeries in the United States
Based on the 2021 reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding occupational employment and wages, approximately 29,590 surgeons are actively delivering services within the United States.
As per the Plastic Surgery Statistics Report (2020) released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were approximately 15.6 million cosmetic surgeries conducted in 2020, which marked a 14% decrease compared to the previous year in 2019. Similarly, in 2020, around 6.8 million reconstructive procedures were completed (a 3% increase from 2019). According to the same report, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, facelift, liposuction, and breast augmentation were the top five cosmetic surgical procedures in 2020.
In reconstructive procedures, tumor removal continues to overwhelm the top procedure to be performed yearly, with approximately 5.2 million procedures in 2020. In addition, laceration repair, maxillofacial surgery, scar revision, and hand surgery are the top five reconstructive procedures performed in 2020.
The cosmetic plastic demographic trends from the same report show that 92% of all cosmetic procedures (around 12.4 million total cosmetic procedures) were on females. In comparison, this figure was about 8% for males, with approximately 1.1 million cosmetic procedures.
Sources
WebMD
Royal College of Surgeons of England
St. George's University
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Learn.org
