Introduction to Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery
The surgical treatment of diseases of the gall bladder, liver and pancreas (hepatobiliary system) and oesophagus, stomach and small bowel (upper gastrointestinal tract) is performed under the care of the general surgeon who has a specialist interest in upper gastrointestinal surgery. The conditions treated are many and varied; they often require the assistance of physicians (gastroenterologists) and specialist nurses (cancer care and inflammatory bowel disease).
The surgical treatment of diseases of the gall bladder, liver and pancreas (hepatobiliary system) and oesophagus, stomach and small bowel (upper gastrointestinal tract) is performed under the care of the general surgeon who has a specialist interest in upper gastrointestinal surgery. The conditions treated are many and varied; they often require the assistance of physicians (gastroenterologists) and specialist nurses (cancer care and inflammatory bowel disease.
Not all patients seen by an upper gastrointestinal surgeon will necessarily need an operation. Often they are the first doctor a patient with abdominal symptoms may see; a large part of their job is the initial investigation and drug treatment of many conditions. Upper gastrointestinal surgeons frequently advise and perform endoscopic evaluation of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Many of these surgical conditions are amenable to treatment with laparoscopic surgery.
