Surgery is a vast field of medicine that deals with a wide range of diverse pathologies. Its distinguishing feature is primarily the operative treatment of diseases, requiring accuracy and sterile conditions.

In the surgical department of St. Luke’s Clinic, competent and qualified specialists will provide you with assistance, observing all the main rules of asepsis and antisepsis.

When should you consult a surgeon?

• If you experience sharp, intense pain of any nature (cutting, stabbing, shooting, throbbing), and taking a painkiller does not provide a noticeable effect.
• If you have been suffering from chronic, persistent pain of varying intensity for a long time. For example, a dull ache in the right hypochondrium may indicate the development of cholecystitis – inflammation of the gallbladder.
• If you have recently sustained an injury. You should call for emergency help or go to the doctor yourself if you experience a headache combined with dizziness and nausea, or if intense bleeding has occurred after an injury. Another dangerous sign is limited or complete absence of movement in any limb.
• If you have found a pathological lump (painful or painless) of any localization.
• If you have started to notice pathological impurities in your stool or urine. This could be mucus, blood, or purulent discharge.

What diseases do surgeons treat?

The list of diseases treated by surgical methods is quite extensive and includes pathologies of all existing organ complexes and systems. In this regard, in addition to general surgery, there are subcategories such as abdominal (treatment of abdominal organs), thoracic (treatment of thoracic organs), neurosurgery, oncological surgery, and others.

Among doctors of narrow specializations (gynecologists, urologists, ophthalmologists, ENT doctors), there is also a division into those engaged in conservative treatment and those performing operations.

Diagnostics

Of course, a doctor can determine the necessity of a particular type of surgical treatment only after a preliminary examination and investigation.

At St. Luke’s Clinic, diagnostics are carried out quickly and using modern technologies.

Laboratory diagnostics

One of the most necessary stages of patient examination. Firstly, blood tests can detect signs of an inflammatory process of any etiology in the body, as well as identify lesions of a number of organs. For example, an increase in ALT and AST in a biochemical blood test indicates liver damage, and an increase in glucose concentration may indicate pancreatic damage.

Secondly, laboratory blood examination is one of the most important stages of preoperative preparation, as it helps to identify possible contraindications. If the study reveals a decrease in the number of platelets and blood clotting factors, the planned operation will be canceled, as serious problems with stopping bleeding may arise on the operating table.

Instrumental diagnostics

Includes all non-invasive or minimally invasive diagnostic methods carried out using special devices. Most often, ultrasound, MRI, X-ray, and endoscopic examinations are used in surgical practice.

All listed methods are safe and painless for the patient. In some cases, local anesthesia or general anesthesia may be used to completely eliminate discomfort and conduct a high-quality examination.

Treatment

Surgical treatment that left highly visible sutures and scars is long gone. Modern surgery allows operations to be performed through small incisions and openings, which are closed with neat cosmetic sutures. Microsurgery is also increasingly developing and improving – operative treatment using microsurgical instruments under microscope control.

The surgical department of St. Luke’s Clinic uses the following methods:

• Traditional surgical treatment with a scalpel. Necessary in cases where it is required to remove a foreign body or an extensive neoplasm, remove a significant part of an organ (a fragment of the intestine or stomach), as well as the entire organ (for example, a spleen damaged as a result of trauma).
• Endoscopic treatment. Such operations are performed through the natural pathways of the human body: esophagus, intestines, nasal cavity, and others. The advantages of this type of treatment are minimal blood loss during the procedure, as well as the absence of pronounced postoperative pain syndrome and the need for a long hospital stay.
• Laparoscopic treatment. A type of endoscopic treatment, as similar equipment is used during the operation. It allows operations on internal organs through small (up to 1.5 cm) openings. This method is less traumatic than the traditional method, and the postoperative recovery period is significantly easier and faster.
• Laser treatment. In this method of operative treatment, incisions are made using a special laser. The method has found its application in various fields of surgery. It is used to remove adenoids, hemorrhoids, benign skin diseases. Lasers are also used to cauterize long-healing ulcers and stop bleeding. And since the instrument itself does not come into contact with body tissues during the procedure, the risk of developing a secondary infection is practically zero.