Surgical Operations Terminology

When you are admitted to hospital it can seem to be quite daunting and the terminology people use confusing. You may be being admitted for a procedure or an operation, which is called "routine surgery". Emergency admissions for conditions or accidents cause more anxiety for the patient as well as the family. 

I have put together a brief explanation of the most common terminology to help you understand what is happening.

If at any point if you don’t understand what procedure or operation is being done or it hasn’t been explained to you to your satisfaction, don’t be afraid to ask. The surgeon or one of the team who are looking after you will always ask for your consent (click here for information on Consent Forms) either written of verbally prior to undertaking any procedure or operation.

Here are brief  explanations of some of the common terms you might hear:-

A Something:

-ectomy means the surgical removal of something, for instance the appendix in an appendectomy or appendicectomy.

-otomy refers to the cutting or slicing of a body part, for instance Laparotomy -An operation to open the abdomen/stomach

-stomy is the creation of an artificial opening, as in a Colostomy- An opening through the wall of the abdomen for the colon to divert waste through

-pathy suffering or disease – As in neuropathy which is disease of the nerve

-itismeans inflammation- As in Gastritis which is Inflammation of the stomach.

-emesis is to vomit – as in Hematemesis - vomiting blood

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