What is General Surgery?
The title "general surgeon" implies a lack of specialty, but actually the practice of general surgery is not only a specialty but it is the discipline from where the practice of all surgery began. Most other types of surgeons began their training in a general surgery residency then chose to concentrate on specific parts of the body other than those that fall under the specialty of General Surgery. The practice of general surgery differs slightly depending upon which region of the country/world you are in, but all general surgeons treat the abdomen (gallbladder, appendix, colon, stomach, hernias, etc.), the breast, and the skin (lesions, tumors, cysts). Several surgical specialties, such as colorectal, thoracic, vascular, pediatric, and laparoscopic have significant overlap with general surgery.
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PROCEDURES WE PERFORM
-abnormal mammogram/breast ultrasound
-breast problems
-skin lesions and fatty tumors
-hernias
-disorders of the stomach & small intestine
-Gallbladder problems
-disorders of the colon and rectum
-need for colonoscopy
-disorders of the spleen, liver, and pancreas
hemorrhoids
anal fissures and fistulas
pilonidal cysts
disorders of the thyroid and parathyroid
spider vein and varicose vein treatment
need for mediport
Dr. Audet's expertise includes minimally invasive surgical techniques, particularly of the the breast and abdomen. This includes advanced laparoscopy, core needle biopsy, and endovenous procedures.
Laparoscopic surgery involves the placement of specialized instruments through tiny incisions, all less than one half of an inch. One of these instruments is a small high-definition digital camera with a bright light. With two or more of these small incisions a major operation can be performed in the abdominal cavity. These procedures include exploration for diagnosis, takedown of scar tissue, repair of abdominal wall hernias, removal of the gallbladder, removal of a portion of the intestine and colon, removal of the appendix, removal or repair of the spleen, removal of a small growth or abcess found in one of the organs in the abdominal cavity.
Core needle biopsy is a technique by which a small sample of tissue is taken from a growth, lymph node, or organ to obtain a diagnosis. It eliminates the need to go to the operating room and obtain a tissue sample through an incision, which is more disruptive to the tissues and the patient. This procedure can easily be performed in the office, with local anesthesia, for lumps that can be felt easily. Growths that are best seen with ultrasound and x-ray, or that are deeper in the body require imaging techniques to properly localize the abnormality.
Endovenous procedures include minimally invasive techniques utilized to ablate or remove varicose veins. The former vein stripping procedure that was done in the operating room has now been replaced by these procedures which pass a small device into the problem vein. The tip of the device delivers heat to the inner lining of the vein and causes it to scar down in its native place. More superficial veins can be removed completely through tiny skin nicks.