SURGERY

Physicians specializing in surgery can choose to become general surgeons or pursue a subspecialty in a specific area of the body, type of patient, or type of surgery. General surgeons provide a wide variety of life-saving surgeries, such as appendectomies and splenectomies. They receive broad training on human anatomy, physiology, intensive care, and wound healing. The Association of American Medical Colleges and American College of Surgeons outline a number of surgical subspecialties and areas of practice, including the following: • Colon and rectal surgery • General surgery o Surgical critical care • Gynecologic oncology • Plastic surgery o Craniofacial surgery o Hand surgery • Neurological surgery o Endovascular surgical neuroradiology • Ophthalmic surgery • Oral and maxillofacial surgery • Orthopaedic surgery o Adult reconstructive orthopaedics o Foot and ankle orthopaedics o Musculoskeletal oncology o Orthopaedic sports medicine o Orthopaedic surgery of the spine o Orthopaedic trauma o Pediatric orthopaedics • Otolaryngology o Pediatric otolaryngology • Otology neurotology • Pediatric surgery o Neonatal o Prenatal o Trauma o Pediatric oncology • Surgical Intensivists, specializing in critical care patients • Thoracic Surgery o Congenital cardiac surgery o Thoracic surgery-integrated • Vascular surgery