Lower gastrointestinal surgery

Digestive system surgery can be divided into upper GI surgery and lower GI surgery.

Upper gastrointestinal surgery, often referred to as upper GI surgery, refers to a practise of surgery

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

 that focuses on the upper parts of the gastrointestinal tract

Gastrointestinal tract

The human gastrointestinal tract refers to the stomach and intestine, and sometimes to all the structures from the mouth to the anus. ....

. There are many operations relevant to the upper gastrointestinal tract that are best done only by those who keep constant practise, owing to their complexity. Consequently, a general surgeon may specialise in 'upper GI' by attempting to maintain currency in those skills.

Upper GI surgeons would have an interest in, and may exclusively perform, the following operations:

• Pancreaticoduodenectomy
  Pancreaticoduodenectomy
  A pancreaticoduodenectomy, pancreatoduodenectomy, Whipple procedure, or Kausch-Whipple procedure, is a major surgical operation involving the pancreas, duodenum, and other organs...
  
  
• Esophagectomy
  Esophagectomy
  Esophagectomy or Oesophagectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the esophagus .-Purpose:...
  
  
• Liver resection

Lower gastrointestinal surgery refers to a sub-specialisation of medical practise whereby a general surgeon focuses on the lower gastrointestinal tract

Gastrointestinal tract

The human gastrointestinal tract refers to the stomach and intestine, and sometimes to all the structures from the mouth to the anus. ....

.

A lower GI surgeon might specialise in the following operations:

• Colectomy
  Colectomy
  Colectomy consists of the surgical resection of any extent of the large intestine .-History:Sir William Arbuthnot-Lane was one of the early proponents of the usefulness of total colectomies, although his overuse of the procedure called the wisdom of the surgery into question.-Indications:Some of...
  
  
• Low or ultralow resections for rectal cancer, etc.

Compare upper gastrointestinal surgery.