Human beings, unfortunately, face multiple inclemencies, whether extrinsic or intrinsic to the individual: a stomach ulcer, a bad fall or perhaps a simple aesthetic flaw can be reasons to undergo surgery at least once in our lives.
Many people associate surgery with a life or death situation, but nothing could be further from the truth. For example, an average of 400,000 surgeries are performed in Spain every year for the sole purpose of aesthetic modification.. This industry, increasingly on the rise, moves more than 9,000 million euros globally per year, with female augmentation mammoplasty as the standard-bearer intervention.
As a result, in several European areas there has been a 30% increase in the number of visits to the operating room in the general population, many of them for aesthetic purposes. Do you know what the 10 most important types of surgery in modern society are? What are their characteristics? In the following lines we give you answers to these questions and many others.
What is surgery?
Surgery is the practice that involves the mechanical manipulation of anatomical structures. mechanical manipulation of the anatomical structures of the living beings with a medical purpose, either diagnostic, therapeuticeither diagnostic, therapeutic, prognostic or aesthetic. Due to the increase in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, cancers and traumatisms, public spending on this type of intervention has increased globally in recent years. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides us with some interesting data:
- Worldwide, 234 million major surgical operations (with operating room and anesthesia) are performed annually.
- This means that one out of every 25 people undergoes surgery annually.
- Seventy-five percent of surgeries are performed in 30% of the world’s population, i.e. in high-income countries.
As we can see, this is an extremely important intervention that takes on multiple forms and characteristics. Unfortunately, like almost everything else in life, a proper healthcare infrastructure is reserved for the wealthiest regions.
The most important and frequent surgical operations
Once we have explained what surgery is and how these types of procedures are distributed globally, we are ready to put our hands to the scalpel and dissect the 10 most important types of surgery. We will not delay any longer, because today there is a lot of tissue to cut and sew.
Appendectomy
Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of emergency abdominal surgery, with 11 cases per 100,000 population. 11 cases per 100,000 population at any given time. at any given time. Appendectomy aims to surgically remove the appendix, a small finger-shaped organ that extends from the first part of the large intestine and which, in this pathology, is inflamed. The removal is performed through a cut in the lower right side of the abdominal area.
2. Breast biopsy
This surgery is of a diagnostic nature, since it is based on obtaining a sample of breast tissue in order to obtaining a sample of breast tissue to observe it under a microscope.. This technique, carried out with a special needle (needle biopsy) or by removing a lump (lumpectomy) allows the diagnosis of breast cancer.
This type of diagnostic surgery is very common since, unfortunately, in the United States alone there are almost 270,000 cases of invasive breast cancer annually and about 42,000 deaths. The data speak for themselves: when faced with any doubt or breast abnormality, a visit to the doctor can save lives.
3. Cataract surgery
36% of the world’s population suffers from cataracts after the age of 50, a percentage that rises to 71%.This percentage rises to 71% in older people. Therefore, it is not surprising that cataract surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures in society.
In this ocular surgery, the eye’s natural lens (which has developed opacity over time) is removed and a lens is substituted in its place. As expected, cataract surgery seeks to improve the individual’s visual ability.
4. Cesarean section
Cesarean section is very common, depending on the area, up to 26% of mothers go through this process when giving birth.. The World Health Organization (WHO) puts the ideal cesarean rate at 10-15%, although this practice is becoming increasingly common.
In this case, surgery is performed by making an incision in the mother’s abdomen and uterus in order to safely deliver the baby. Cesarean section is performed when it is considered that it will be safer than natural childbirth for both the woman and the child.
5. Cholecystectomy
This is another surgery that is based on the removal of a structure, but in this case, instead of the appendix, the gallbladder is removed, instead of the appendix, the patient’s gallbladder is removed.. This is the way to go when the gallbladder is inflamed, infected, has developed cancer or is predisposed to the appearance of problematic gallstones.
6. Stomach ulcer surgery
In certain populations, gastroduodenal and gastric ulcers reach a prevalence of almost 84 patients per 1,000 inhabitants (with a clear bias towards the male gender), a not insignificant figure. (with a clear bias towards the male gender), a figure that is by no means negligible.
The purpose of this type of surgery is to close the perforation produced in the affected section so that it will stop bleeding, although other routes are usually taken before undergoing surgery, such as reducing the acid levels in the stomach or destroying the H. pylori bacteria. Surgery is one of the last options to be considered in the face of this clinical condition, but it is nonetheless important to take it into account.
7. Surgery for gastrointestinal perforation
Another of the most important emergency surgeries in the operating room. In this case, there is a hole that develops along the esophagus, stomach, small or large intestine or rectum. Unlike the ulcer, in these cases almost always surgery is required to close the hole.
In addition to the closure procedure itself, surgery for bowel perforation may require removal of a small part of the bowel (colostomy) or abdominal drainage.
8. Coronary artery bypass
This surgical procedure is performed in people suffering from coronary artery disease. In this case it is not a matter of removing but of replacing, since a graft is made from above. a graft is made above and below an obstructed portion of the blood vessel, in order to allow blood to flow to the coronary artery.The aim is to allow blood to flow more easily through this “accessory pathway”. In general, the veins of the patient’s leg are usually used to obtain the graft that will be the cornerstone of the bypass.
9. Augmentation mammoplasty
Who said that all surgeries respond to a medical reason? As we have already mentioned above, cosmetic procedures are on the rise, and augmentation mammoplasty is the clearest example of this. Fifty-five percent of women undergoing surgery are between the ages of 19 and 34, and in countries such as the U.S., more than 122,000 procedures are performed annually, more than 122,000 procedures are performed annually related to the aesthetics of the breasts in the female gender.
In this case, the process seeks to introduce silicone implants in the breasts to increase their size, either subglandular (under the mammary glands) or submuscular (under the muscle). There are multiple ways to approach this type of intervention.
- To learn more: “Breast augmentation: procedure, risks, price and everything you should know”.
10. Hemorrhoidectomy
Hemorrhoids are present in 30 to 50% of the adult population. and, depending on their severity, can become a real nuisance. Hemorrhoidectomy aims to surgically remove hemorrhoids, which are dilated veins in the rectum or anus that bleed and itch with the passage of stool.
Summary
We have presented 10 of the most important or common types of surgery in the general population, but they are certainly not the only ones. The scalpel is the order of the day, as there are more and more ways to save patients from a serious disease or, by default, to perform aesthetic touch-ups to improve the quality of individual life.