Surgery Basics
What is surgery?
A branch of medical science that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat disease or injury.
Name the three phases of surgical patient care.
Preoperative, Intraoperative, and Postoperative.
Who is responsible for performing the surgery?
Surgeon
What does the prefix "Hemi-" mean?
Half
Which surgical suffix means "surgical removal"?
ectomy
Which goal of surgery involves removing a small tissue sample to confirm a diagnosis?
Diagnosis (Biopsy).
In which surgical phase is the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist "Sign In" completed?
Preoperative phase
Which OT team member administers anaesthesia and continuously monitors the patient's vital signs during surgery?
Anaesthetist
A surgeon performs laparoscopy. Which part of the body does the prefix "Lapar-" refer to?
Abdomen (abdominal cavity)
Which suffix means "creating a new opening (stoma)"
A. -otomy
B. -ostomy
C. -ectomy
D. -scopy
-ostomy
Name the three types of surgery based on urgency spectrum.
Elective, Urgent, and Emergency surgery.
A patient has been shifted to the operating table. Anaesthesia has been induced, and the surgical team is preparing to make the skin incision. Which surgical phase is this?
Intraoperative phase
Differentiate between the roles of the Scrub Nurse/Technologist and the Circulating Nurse.
Match the following prefixes with their meanings:
Match the suffix with its meaning.
SuffixMeaning-plasty?-scopy?-pexy?
Differentiate between open surgery and minimally invasive surgery by giving two differences.
A patient is receiving analgesics, vital signs are monitored every 15 minutes, and the surgical wound is assessed for bleeding. Identify the surgical phase and mention one major objective of this phase.
Postoperative phase
During surgery, the surgeon requests an additional sterile instrument that is not available on the sterile trolley. Which OT team member should obtain it, and why?
Circulating Nurse, because they work outside the sterile field and can safely obtain additional sterile supplies without contaminating the sterile area.
Match the procedure with the correct prefix.
ProcedurePrefix_____costal nerve blockInter-_____cutaneous injectionSub-_____medullary nailingIntra-
A patient has a large kidney stone. The surgeon crushes the stone into small fragments without removing the kidney.
Which surgical suffix best describes this procedure?
A. -lysis
B. -tripsy
C. -centesis
D. -desis
✅ -tripsy
Explanation: -tripsy means crushing, commonly used for breaking urinary or biliary stones (e.g., lithotripsy).
A 35-year-old man arrives at the emergency department after a road traffic accident with severe internal bleeding. The surgeon decides to take him to the operating theatre immediately.
What type of surgery is indicated, and why?
Emergency surgery, because immediate surgical intervention is required to save the patient's life.
A patient receives preoperative antibiotics after skin incision instead of before surgery.
Which surgical phase was not managed correctly, and what could be the consequence?
A patient receives preoperative antibiotics after skin incision instead of before surgery.
Which surgical phase was not managed correctly, and what could be the consequence?
During surgery, the scrub nurse accidentally touches a non-sterile surface with a sterile glove.
Which OT team member should provide a new sterile glove without compromising the sterile field, and what should happen next?
Show three pictures:
Question:
A patient undergoes surgery to repair a torn tendon after a sports injury. The surgeon carefully stitches the torn ends of the tendon together.
Which surgical term correctly describes this procedure?
A. Tenotomy
B. Tenorrhaphy
C. Tenodesis
D. Tenoscopy
✅ Tenorrhaphy
Explanation: -rrhaphy means suturing, so Tenorrhaphy is the surgical suturing of a tendon.